THERE was a huge treat in store for young Teletubby fan, Andrew Walsh (PICTURED) when he celebrated his third birthday this month, thanks to the generosity of Hamley's, the world famous toyshop.

The brave youngster, who was diagnosed as suffering from acute myeloid leukaemia almost exactly a year ago, recently returned to his Windle home following a gruelling eight month course of chemotherapy and the only thing he wanted for his birthday was a cuddly figure of Laa Laa, his favourite Teletubby.

But, every toy shop mum Barbara visited had sold out due to the mammoth demand for the cute TV stars.

She told the Star: "It's been a very difficult year for Andrew although he is too young to appreciate the seriousness of his illness. The leukaemia was actually diagnosed on his second birthday and he was taken straight into Alder Hey Hospital and stayed there until May this year receiving intensive treatment. We were also told at the time that acute myeloid leukaemia was one of the childhood cancers so we were all feeling very low."

Andrew returned home in May but still attended Alder Hey for regular chemotherapy sessions which only finished in October.

Barbara added: "He is in remission at the moment but we have to visit the hospital every month for check-ups. However, the doctors have now been able to take samples of healthy bone marrow from Andrew which could be used in the future if need be and they have also discovered that Andrew's older sister Alison is a perfect bone marrow match if he should ever need a transplant.

"During his time spent in hospital and after he came home, Andrew became a fan of the Teletubbies so I decided to buy him Laa Laa, his favourite character, as a special birthday treat. But everywhere I went they had sold out. I was almost ready to give up when I saw a report on Hamley's store in London so I wrote a letter to them explaining about Andrew's condition and enclosed a blank cheque to cover the cost of the toy."

Barbara went on to describe her delight when she received the yellow Teletubby through the post... and the store had also sent the cheque back.

"It was a lovely gesture and I am very grateful to them. Andrew's face was an absolute picture when he opened his present."

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