Friends rally round for lightning strike victim (From This Is Wiltshire)

FRIENDS of schoolboy Joe Compton, who is in hospital after being struck by lightning, have set up a donation page to help support him and his family.

Eleven-year-old Joe, a pupil at Dorcan Academy, was in the car park of the secondary school on Wednesday afternoon when he suffered a heart attack following the freak incident.

Workers at Dorcan Recreation Centre rushed to his aid and performed emergency CPR before paramedics arrived and took him to Great Western Hospital.

He has since been transferred to Frenchay Hospital and is now said to be in a stable condition. Friends say he is making progress every day but still has a long way to go.

Since the incident, a Facebook group has been set up entitled ‘Get Well Wishes For Joe Compton’ where they have been leaving their own messages of support, wishing the youngster a full and speedy recovery.

Kallum Powles wrote: “Joe ur a solider u can pull it through stay strong and see u at school soon and best wishes to ur family at this important time.”

Chelsea Hughess wrote: “Tutor and classes are not the same without you! I love you Joe.”

Joe’s family, who are keeping a bedside vigil, have thanked the staff at the recreation centre who helped resuscitate Joe.

In a statement issued last week, they said: “We would like to thank everyone for their support. “We would particularly like to express our gratitude to the PE staff and leisure centre staff who came to Joe’s aid, we owe a huge amount of thanks to them.”

A donation page has also been set up to help Joe’s family with the costs involved with having a child in hospital, or even to buy Joe an extra special gift.

To view the Facebook page and make a donation, visit https://www.facebook.com/ groups/486941764660156/.