WHAT a cheering start The Northern Echo gave the New Year with the fairytale ending to the pre-Christmas sad story of the stolen £800 raised by eight-year-old Darlington boy George Pichl-Mordue for charity (Echo, Jan 1).

It helped to restore one’s faith in human nature to read that not only had George’s original loss been restored, but the many folk who had responded, including police investigating the theft, schools in Darlington, and students of Teesside University business school where George’s father works, had increased his fund considerably.

The picture of an overjoyed George, in contrast to the sad picture of him after the theft (Echo, Dec 7), was delightful.

Congratulations to all those who helped, I hope, to restore George’s faith in people.

Eric Gendle, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough.