F1 team sponsor bionic hand for UK teen

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Tue, 16 Aug 2011 9:57p.m.

Matthew James, 14

Matthew James, 14

Mercedes GP Petronas says a British teen who asked the Formula One team to sponsor his bionic hand has received a new prosthetic limb.

Matthew James, 14, was born without a left hand. The prosthetic he wanted costs around 30,000 pounds (NZ$59,000), so he wrote to the team asking it would help pay and offering to put the Mercedes GP logo on the hand.

Mercedes GP - which like many F1 teams strews its cars and drivers with sponsorships - says the team was "so moved" by James's letter it got in touch with the maker of the prosthetic, Touch Bionics, to find a solution.

It said Monday that Touch Bionics agreed to waive the 25,000 pound (NZ$49,000) clinical services fee and that the team is helping Matthew fundraise the remaining 10,000 pounds (NZ$20,000) he needs for the hand.

AP

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