A good Samaritan has stepped in to replace a Hove mugging victim's mobile phone, after reading about his ordeal in The Argus.

Sarah Errey was horrified to read how Matthew Braggs,13, was threatened with a knife, punched and pushed to the ground by a teenage boy and girl.

The attackers ran off with his beloved Nokia 3210 mobile phone he had been given for Christmas.

Mrs Errey, of Westbourne Street, Hove, had advertised her Nokia mobile phone for sale after buying a new one. But she went to Matthew's home in Hove yesterday, to give him her spare phone.

Mrs Errey's 15-year-old son Harry was beaten up by a gang of teenagers on a bus last summer.

She said: "I don't understand how some people feel they have the right to go around doing this sort of thing.

"When I read in The Argus what happened to Matthew, I felt sorry for him and wanted to do something to help."

Matthew's mother, Julie Braggs, said: "I really appreciate this. It makes you realise there are good people in the world, as well as bad. We can't afford to buy him a new phone, so this has really cheer him up."

Matthew's stolen phone was returned to him yesterday, through a series of acquaintances of the robbers. But it had been thrown on a fire and the battery and SIM card had been burnt beyond repair.

The attack happened in Stapley Road, Hove, on Tuesday, at about 9.40pm as Matthew and his 14-year-old brother Adam were walking home from a youth club at Hangleton Junior School.

Matthew, who has special needs, suffered a black eye and cuts to his legs.