THE kindness of local children brought tears to the eyes of a Leigh pensioner.

May Yarsley was devastated when a car being chased by police on Alpine Drive crashed into the back garden of her Wigan Road home.

May was gardening when the speeding vehicle smashed through a wall, which then collapsed onto a wooden summer house.

Although she had a lucky escape, the summer house, which had been a golden wedding present, was completely destroyed, as was a 12 foot section of the wall.

May said: "I was very fortunate not to have been in the way. I was left shocked and shaken, but luckily uninjured."

Six local children who had been playing in the area at the time also escaped injury, but were concerned to see May so upset by the accident.

"They asked me if they could help, which I thought was very sweet, but I told them it was okay. Then they returned with £13 that they had collected for me, saying they wanted to help rebuild my summer house. I still told them I was okay and that our insurance would cover it, but they had gone to so much trouble for me I was touched."

Later that day May had yet another surprise, the group of children aged between five and 11, had asked a neighbour to take their money and buy May some replacement plant pots.

"I couldn't speak for crying. It was such a lovely thought. They brought them round themselves and presented them to me. I just want to say thank you. You hear so many bad tales about the young and this shows there are good ones too. It meant so much to me."