A group of bikers brought the smile back to the face of young leukaemia sufferer Adam Clarke when they replaced his stolen motorbike.

Riders at Eynsham Motorcross Practice Track held a charity weekend to raise the money for the new Kawasaki 65cc after reading about the theft in the Oxford Mail.

Adam Clarke Adam, who had a bone marrow transplant two years ago, had only just become strong enough to ride when his parents Nicky and Eddie bought him a green child's 1998 Kawasaki 60cc - worth £800 - for his tenth birthday in April.

It was his most treasured possession until thieves took it from the family's locked garden shed in Rosamund Road, Wolvercote, weeks later.

Although Adam has beaten the cancer he will have to have growth hormone treatment. He takes penicillin twice daily, has cataracts and is showing signs of graft versus host disease - which is similar to eczema.

The new bike was presented to Adam yesterday, following the special fund-raising weekend, which was organised by the owner of the track, at the Strawberry Layby on the A40, John Pounder. Mr Pounder said: "He had just started coming here, when he first arrived he was like a jelly on a plate, then we got him doing a figure of eight standing up.

"This is the lowest of the low. I just wonder if these people can live with this for the rest of their lives on their conscience. We can never replace his bike, but we would just do what we can for him.

"Words don't describe what happened."

Meanwhile the Clarke's next door neighbour's brother, Jason Cooper, was on a visit from his home in America when he heard about the theft.

He pinned the Oxford Mail article up on the noticeboard at his office and raised £1,100 from his colleagues at Transmarketing in Chicago. The cash will buy Adam motorbike equipment and protective clothing.

Adam's mother Nicky Clarke said: "We are overwhelmed by everybody's generosity. We have not known our next door neighbour, Tracey Hawkins, long and already she has been so kind. Adam only had his bike for a short while before it was stolen. We can't believe how kind everybody has been."