A BURST of donations, including two for £100, has given a major boost to the Evening Press Christmas appeal for York hit-and-run victim Katie Scales.

Since Tuesday we have been calling on readers to help raise £1,000 to buy the 11-year-old All Saints' School pupil a new computer for Christmas so she can stay in touch with her friends by e-mail as she recovers.

As of this morning, the total stood at more than £420.

York firm Design Computers has offered to supply a top-of-the-range machine and meet £250 of the cost if readers can raise the rest of the £1,000 needed.

Among the £315 of donations made since yesterday, £100 was donated by All Saints' School and another £100 by Peter and Alison Hanson, who run The Cat Gallery, in Low Petergate, and who live near the scene of the accident.

The police hunt was continuing today for the driver of the new model black Fiat Punto, which knocked Katie down on a pelican crossing in Blossom Street on Wednesday, December 4.

All donations need to be with the Evening Press by Monday at the latest. Cheques should be made payable to Katie Scales Appeal and sent as soon as possible to Katie Scales Appeal, c/o Mike Laycock, Evening Press, 76/86 Walmgate, York, YO1 9YN. Donations can also be handed in to our reception in Walmgate, York.

Updated: 12:08 Friday, December 20, 2002