EuroMillions Winners Buy Olympic Torch-Bearing Teenage

Amputee Kieran Maxwell New Prosthetic

A teenager who lost a leg to cancer "started yelling and dancing" when he heard Britain's biggest lottery prize winners have bought him a new prosthetic limb, his mother said today.

Kieran Maxwell, 13, from Heighington, near Darlington, was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer which affects fewer than 30 children a year, in October 2010.

He had his left leg amputated below the knee in March last year despite undergoing gruelling chemotherapy.

Since losing his leg Kieran has been determined to remain active and carried the Olympic Torch last month when the relay passed through Bishop Auckland last month.

But his current replacement limb is heavy and slows him down, so his parents Nicola and Alistair decided to try to raise the cash to buy him a lighter model from the US.

Kieran Maxwell 

Lottery winners Colin and Chris Weir from Ayrshire - who scooped £161 million in a EuroMillions draw a year ago - heard about Kieran's battle and stepped in with a five-figure donation to buy the new leg outright.

Mrs Maxwell said: "Kieran started yelling and dancing around when he heard.

"He couldn't believe it. I am still pinching myself.

"What they have done for Kieran will be a small drop in the ocean for them but for him it will change his life.

"He can go back to being a normal boy. He can be himself.