A HEARTWARMING gesture from a bike shop left a Jericho family stunned after their three-year-old battling cancer was given with the scooter of his dreams.

Brave youngster Felix Fletcher was diagnosed with leukaemia in January and has been having chemotherapy treatment at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

He was invited to The Cycle Centre in Walton Street and surprised with a top-of-the-range scooter ordered specially from America.

Father Tom Fletcher, 36, said: "The manager went and tracked down this very unique scooter that you can't get hold of in the UK and gave it to Felix as a present.

"He couldn't quite believe it. He was so touched. We have been overwhelmed by so many in terms of the kindness of strangers."

Felix, who goes to nursery in Summertown with twin sister Dora, is an avid scooter fan often spotted trundling around the St Barnabas Primary School playground.

On arrival the "menacing and cool" new set of wheels turned out to be painted black with a skull and crossbones - perfect for Felix, an AC/DC fan.

The youngster is currently on a three-year course of treatment for leukaemia at Kamran's Ward at the JR, where he may shortly take the scooter for a test-drive.

Mr Fletcher, a teacher at The Dragon School, said the diagnosis was "initially a shock, but then you start to adapt".

"We don't know how he's going yet - the way the treatment works you only get blood tests every few months. The support we get from the JR, not just the medical support but in the community and advice sense, is amazing.

"Felix is managing extraordinarily well. We are very lucky."

He added that the family have been struck by the kindness of staff at businesses across Jericho, including Branca, the Jericho Cafe and the Sobell House Hospice charity shop.

Although the scooter from The Cycle Centre has been customised for his size, Felix has agreed to let older brother Arthur, five, take it out for a spin as well.

Not only can it be used for regular rides around but the super-hardy 'stunt scooter' , which normally sells for about £100, has been specially made for tricks and turns.

Manager Kyle Pearson said that Mr Fletcher and wife Alice, 35, were regulars at the shop and he had heard about Felix's plight some weeks before

He said: "About a week ago I was talking to one of my distributors and spotted a scooter in their catalogue. I told Tom what I wanted to do; he was over the moon and brought Felix down with Alice. We custom-modified the handlebars so that it would actually work for Felix.

"It's a proper stunt scooter and extremely strong. We used to sell them a while back but you can't get hold of them anymore, apart from this one we've pulled out of the hat.

"For us it was one of those small things we can give back and say 'enjoy'."