KIND-HEARTED people from around the world have helped put a smile back on a young Dunfermline man's face as he recovers from COVID-19.

Curtis Prior, who has autism, has been making progress slowly after the coronavirus took hold in March and he has friends and total strangers to thank for raising his spirits.

He had taken a "turn for the worse" at the end of April and had asked his mum, Nicola Wallace, for a "Get well card".

The 25-year-old's godmother, Ghislaine, posted his request on her own Facebook page with others, including Nicola's pal Lorna Ward, following suit.

At the time of writing, he has received as many as 120 cards from people across the UK, Ireland and even in the USA and Canada, which are now on display on his bedroom wall.

Nicola told the Press that it had given them both a lift.

She said: "Curtis has been having a really hard time of it lately and has been very poorly.

"He's making progress but it's pretty slow and having coronavirus is going to leave some lasting impact on his life.

"He wasn't tested for the virus but we phoned his GP at Bellyeoman Surgery and 111 (NHS helpline) and they were both confident that's what he had.

"I can't thank everyone at Bellyeoman enough because they've been amazing with us, as have my work (Scotmid Funerals) who were very quick to tell me that I have to put Curtis before my work; they've been so understanding.

"With all that's been happening, to have people we don't even know sending Curtis these lovely cards and small gifts, it's been amazing.

"It's cheered him up and he has loved waiting on the postman bringing them.

"It's also meant a lot to me to see him cheery again.

"He still has a long way to go but this really made a difference to the both of us."

As well as thanking the GP surgery and her employers, she also thanked the local postie who has asked constantly about Curtis and his recovery.

"On the first day of delivering the cards he had around 15 in a bundle," Nicola said.

"He thought it was a birthday but after I told him about Curtis and why he was receiving these cards, every time he's delivered to us he's asked how he's getting on.

"There's a lot of good people in our communities and I think we've seen a lot of generosity in the area through all of this."