Harpenden man raises £25,000 fundraising target in 24 hours
Dom Hyams with the stolen wheelchair - Credit: Archant
In less than 24 hours the £25,000 fundraising target of a man whose wheelchair was stolen yesterday (Wednesday) has been exceeded.
Dom Hyams wants people to be on the look out for the stolen wheelchair - Credit: Archant
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.”
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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.
