Harpenden man raises £25,000 fundraising target in 24 hours

In less than 24 hours the £25,000 fundraising target of a man whose wheelchair was stolen yesterday (Wednesday) has been exceeded.

27-year-old Dominic Hyams, who has brittle bones disease, had his electric wheelchair was stolen outside a friend’s house yesterday morning.

He described the electric wheelchair, which had the value of £17,500, as ‘his legs’ and was desperate to find it.

His sister, Holly Hyams, set up a fundraising page less than 24 hours ago to raise money for a new electric wheelchair and to have his van adapted to the new wheelchair.

The total raised has now exceeded the £25,000 target, and any extra raised will be split between charities close to Dom- The Brittle Bone Society and Action for Kids.

Holly said on the page: “Dom leads a very happy and independent life. He works full time, and he is a vocal advocate of independence for disabled people. This will all change dramatically without the use of a specially adapted chair.”

Following the surge of support, Dom said on his Facebook: “24 hours ago I was completely dumbfounded as to how the situation was going to be sorted, and now with everyone’s amazing support on the gofundme page that my sister Holly set up, I know that things will be ok. Thank you so so much.”

He said in an earlier Facebook post: “Thank you everyone the support today has been mind-blowingly incredible. I can safely say today has proven that for every horrible wheelchair thief there are a million wonderful kind and compassionate people. A million thank yous.

“The chair hasn’t been found as of yet, and it seems the police are not going to offer much help, but I know if there is any chance of finding it, it will be found.”

The chair was stolen between the hours of 7.30am and 8am yesterday morning in Lordship Park, Stoke Newington.

If you have any information, please contact the police on the non-emergency number 101, or Dom directly on domhyams@gmail.com.