KIND-hearted business people stepped in to ensure a group of disabled children could visit Father Christmas.

Pupils at Langside School in Parkstone, Poole, looked set to have their trip cancelled after thieves stole the exhaust and catalytic converter from underneath a wheelchair-adapted vehicle earlier this month.

Despite the £2,000 repair cost being covered by insurance, Dorset disability charity Diverse Abilities Plus, which runs the school, was hit by the excess fee, as well as the possibility of increased premiums. But the theft also meant they did not have enough transport for all the children to visit Santa at a local garden centre.

After reading about the charity’s plight in the Daily Echo, a number of firms came forward to help.

Hendy Van and Truck Hire, based at the Nuffield Industrial Estate, ordered the new part and fitted it onto a minibus hired from Ruth and Mark Goodman to enable the trip to go ahead, while Bournemouth Rotary paid the £300 insurance excess.

Secure Micro Solutions in Leeds has given the charity a free catalytic converter alarm and Redkite in Wimborne will fit the alarm in the New Year.

Andy Symonds, service manager at Hendy Van and Truck, said: “As soon as we heard that this heartless theft was going to put the children's visit to see Santa in jeopardy we felt we had to do whatever was needed to prevent their trip being cancelled and pulled out all the stops to get the minibus back on the road as quickly as possible.”

Langside principal Jonathan Seaward said: "We were thrilled to be able to take the children to see Father Christmas after receiving such remarkable support from a number of organisations.

“Without their amazing help we wouldn’t have been able to visit Santa this Christmas.”