THE GIFT was going to be £350.

But then Bitterne Park Hotel darts league auctioned off a signed Saints shirt for £160 on Thursday night.

It meant that courageous Southampton teenager Errol Matthews was yesterday presented with a cheque for £510 in his hospital bed by well-wishers.

Errol, of Priory Road, St Denys, has raised hundreds of pounds for Naomi House Children's Hospice near Winchester by holding a series of discos.

What makes his charity work so amazing is the fact that the 17-year-old is terminally ill himself and has been turned down for a heart and lung transplant.

Errol gratefully accepted the cheque and said: "I might get some new clothes with the money - but I'll probably put it in the bank."

Errol, currently hospitalised with pneumonia, is set to spend Christmas at Naomi House with his family.