Hundreds of people have banded together to help a Coatbridge teenager collect enough money to keep his mum’s home after she died suddenly days after Christmas.

Kyle Laird, 17, lost his mum to throat cancer on December 28, leaving him in a financial bind.

His uncle, Pete, set up a fundraising page shortly after with the hope of raising £3,000 to allow his nephew to get by after he lost his job at Christmas.

Grieving Pete described how his sister Tracy and Kyle “were devoted to each other.”

He said: “When Tracy was dealing with the stage 4 throat cancer, Kyle was always there for over four years providing aid to his mum.

“Kyle was working up until Christmas, but the company paid him off and said they would have him back at anytime once work and orders picked up again.

“He is not a lazy teenager - he wants to work but we need to give him a leg up.”

In a plea to the public, Pete added: “I am asking you to donate so that we can alleviate his immediate financial worries.

“He is not entitled to claim any benefits in the UK as he is under 18 years of age. I am working on that and checking the relevant legislation to see if he could be helped by the state.

“Any offers of jobs for Kyle would be a great help.”

He insisted all money raised would go towards helping Kyle financially with nothing going towards Tracy’s funeral costs which were covered.

In just 18 days, Pete smashed his target to raise over £5,000.

Reacting to the overwhelming support received, Pete said on Thursday: “I am actually astounded that so many people have offered to help the wee man.

“I spoke to Kyle earlier and he said, ‘Uncle Peter, I am amazed that people want to help me’. I told him there are a lot of good, decent people out there.

“For the first time since Tracy passed away, I heard him laugh while on the phone.

“Thank you all for everything that you have done to give the wee man some hope.”

A driving school has also since contacted Pete to say they will teach Kyle to drive for free. But Pete added: “I said I could not allow that as the Lairds always pay their own way.

“Their reply amazed me. Jim McManus - from Transformers School of Motoring - said, ‘We want to help the boy out!’

“Amazed and faith in humanity is restored.”

If you want to donate, visit gofundme.com/support-for-kyle-laird.