A FAMILY who suffered at the hands of thieves had their Christmas cheer restored after winning £500 at the grand opening of a new shop.

Andrew and Catherine Watts, from Mountside Crescent, Prestwich, were overjoyed when they clinched the cash during a special draw to celebrate the opening of the new Get-Go Cash Centre in Bury.

Weeks earlier the family was left distraught when their car containing mother Catherine's wheelchair was stolen from outside their house.

Despite extensive appeals, the chair plus other personal belongings of the couple and their children Adam, Rebecca and Craig, have not been recovered.

Having to find the money for an immediate replacement, Christmas was looking bleak until 11-year-old son Adam spotted the cheque-cashing raffle machine in Get-Go in Market Street and persuaded his father Andrew to have a go.

The £500 has now been spent on a new widescreen television, fire, dining room set and a vacuum cleaner which ensured a merry and warm Christmas for the whole family.

Bury shop manager Steven Bill said: "Our whole team are thrilled on behalf of the Watts family."