A BOY whose kind-hearted gesture sparked an avalanche of donations after burglars stole his school's Poppy Appeal cash is to appear on a prime-time Channel 4 show.

Alex Croston, 6, offered over the £8 pocket money he had saved up following the break-in at St Stephen's CofE Primary School in Bent Spur Road, Kearsley, the day after Remembrance Sunday.

The culprits - branded "thieving scumbags" by disgusted social media users - took four laptop computers and two iPads alongside roughly £50 in the loose change from a Royal British Legion collection tin.

Alex's gesture prompted other students to raid their moneyboxes and parents to make donations and organise fundraisers to help recoup the stolen money.

Local businesses and parishioners at St Stephen's Church chipped in and a total of £400 has been raised, which will be handed over to a representative of the Royal British Legion's Farnworth and Kearsley branch at an assembly this afternoon.

The story of the burglary and the terrific reaction of the community to rally round was broken by The Bolton News and followed up by national news outlets.

Now Alex has been invited onto broacaster Chris Evans' Channel 4 topical entertainment show TFI Friday.

His is on his way to London to film alongside the radio and TV presenter for the show's fifth episode of the series that airs tonight live at 8pm.