Kind-hearted police staff in Oxford have helped raise 3,500 pounds to buy artificial legs for a nine-year-old boy injured by a mortar bomb during the war in former Yugoslavia.

Pc Bob Keylock, based at St Aldate's in Oxford, met Alvis Serifovic and his family shortly after the May 1999 explosion, in which Alvis lost the lower half of both legs.

On his return in November, Pc Keylock started fundraising with Det Con Pete Chotak, of Leicestershire police. Both forces held fundraising events, and in July, the officers flew to Tuzla, in Bosnia, to present Alvis with the money for his new legs.

Pc Keylock said: "I would like to say a huge thank-you to all the officers and civilians at Thames Valley Police, along with the many businesses in Oxford who helped to raise the money for Alvis. The main fund-raising event was a quiz night and auction at St Aldate's police station. It raised more than 1,000 pounds."