A SCHOOLBOY boffin looks set to become the next Bill Gates after he cracked a complex computer password - much to the astonishment of a web wizard.

Wez Hunter, 13, amazed staff at Cyber Jungle internet cafe at Middlebrook when he came to the rescue of web design consultant Rik Taylor who was stuck on cracking a password to access the cafe's web system - known only to another Cyber Jungle employee away on holiday.

But when co-worker Gaynor Stones asked her stepson Wez to help out, he took just three minutes to crack the code.

Rik, who has just completed a BSc at Lancaster University said: "I was absolutely amazed, and this is no fluke, Wez is as computer literate as my friends on degree courses."

Wez, from Haigh, attends Shevington High School near Standish but stepmum Gaynor Stones said teachers had confirmed that he is years ahead of his peers and the school was considering allowing him to sit his GCSE in Information Technology early.

Dad, Alan is a senior network engineer at Telewest Communications in Wigan which is part owned by Microsoft. He said: "Wez started fiddling with computers before he was nine, and I can only hope my interest in electronics helped him - now he helps me!"

Now the family are hoping that Wez's talent will be recognised and potential sponsors will come forward to ensure he gets the best possible backing.

A spokesman for Microsoft said: "We wish Wez all the very best. We need people like him in the future."

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