A 9-year-old Bulgarian orphan who was adopted by a wealthy Western family has given £6,000 worth of presents to his former playmates.
The youngster, named only as Axel by Bulgarian media, saved his Christmas and birthday money for five years to save up the cash to buy toys and clothes.
Axel was adopted five years ago by the family of a rich banker in Luxembourg from an orphanage in the small town of Dobrich.
Dr Eugenia Georgieva, director of the orphanage, said little Axel had kept in touch via email, and that he had told her about saving his Christmas and birthday money to help his old friends.
She said, "I imagined he was talking about pocket money amounts.
"Apparently he refused to accept any toys or presents for his birthday or Christmas unless they were money, and put every penny in the bank so that he could give it all to help the other children."
She added that Axel's dream was to return to Bulgaria as a grown-up and set up his own bank there.