THE mother of Kyle Roe, who was left with 87 per cent burns following a gas explosion in his flat, has praised the Chippenham community for rallying behind them and raising more than £3,000 for the Welsh hospital where he is being treated.

Tracy Roe and her husband Chris, who have spent the last six weeks at the bedside of the 19-year-old in Morriston Hospital, Swansea, say they have been overwhelmed by the donations to their JustGiving page and messages of support from people in the town following the Market Place blast.

“Kyle had his tenth operation this week and he is still on life support but out of the induced coma,” she said.

“There is still a long way to go and we need to take baby steps, but from where we were to where we are today shows a lot.

“We wanted to give something back to the hospital and the donations to the page show how much people care about Kyle and I know there are fundraising buckets all over town. We even received a cheque from Whitehall Garden Centre for £250. It’s unbelievable.”

Mr Roe’s colleagues at Morrisons, in Cepen Way North, have been busy collecting more than £800 for the cause, some of which will go towards purchasing a television for a room in the ward. The Works Hair and Beauty Salon, based in Bumpers Farm, has also done the same.

Lisa Mulliss, the people manager at Morrisons, where the 19-year-old has worked for the last two and a half years, said: “We have managed to raise more than £800 for Kyle’s fundraiser over the last week and a half.

“Some of the money has come from staff and some has come from customers who have been coming in and asking how he is.

“Hopefully, we will continue to raise more money.”

Among the fundraisers are the staff at Kandu Arts, where Mr Roe used to play football for a number of years as part of Kandu Kicks programme.

Director Ed Deedigan has organised a concert at 8pm the Constitutional Club on Monday to help spread the message of unity.

“These sort of things show how things can change with a flick of a switch and how precious life is but instead of feeling low about it I thought we needed to combat the negativity and show some appreciation,” he said.

Admission to the concert, which starts at 8pm, is free but donations to www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/robynne-hinkley-2 are encouraged.

Anyone interested in bidding at the auction, where a signed photograph of boxer Nigel Benn is up for grabs, should contact Dickie Albrighton on 07849 491684.