A DEAF and disabled South Lakes man who was attacked as he foiled burglars says he is 'touched' after receiving hundreds of pounds in donations.

William 'Billy' Morris, of Milnthorpe, has been given more than £350 by kind-hearted residents who have commended the vulnerable 54-year-old for his bravery.

He was left battered and bruised from the assault by three masked men as he volunteered at a paper shop.

Still traumatised, he told the Gazette: "Every time I get a card I just break down. I can't believe people are so lovely to me and I'm very humbled by it."

The football fanatic, who is deaf in both ears and only has the use of one side of his body as a result of contracting meningitis as a baby, has been sent hundreds of texts from well-wishers and has opened more than 50 cards.

Some of the cards contained donations which have added up to £100.

After the early morning attack outside McColl's newsagents, in The Square, where he was carrying out his volunteering daily routine of 17 years, his friends and paper shop employees Joanne Faulkner and Jackie Irving rallied round to set up a fund which raised £250.

Mr Morris broke down in tears as he was presented with the collection at Refresh Food and Drink.

His mother Norma Morris, who looks in on him every day at his Milnthorpe flat, said: "Every day he goes in the shop and there are more cards for him.

"It's really been a revelation to us to find how kind people are that we live among in this wonderful area and unfortunately we can't thank people personally as they don't leave their address.

"Everybody looks out for William, he's like a celebrity, and now I know that I don't need to worry about what happens to him after I've gone."

She added that although his scars were starting to heal, the emotional damage still remained.

"I took him shopping to the supermarket and I turned round and tears were streaming down his cheeks," she said. "He'll go into Milnthorpe where they all know him but he didn't want to be round lots of people."

The money will be put towards a planned trip to America which Ms Morris will organise for her son.

"William goes on holiday to the same hotel every year to Mallorca so this will be totally different," she said.