Two mysterious strangers spent a "crazy" amount of cash to win a cuddly toy elephant for a young boy at Liverpool Christmas Market.
Ethan Chandler, 11, sat for 20 minutes watching a game in which players tried to hit six cans with soft balls in order to win a prize when he visited the market with his parents on November 27.
His mum Michelle, 42, said: "Two young lads started playing it, and it was taking them a long time. Ethan was mesmerised; he sat on the bollards cheering them on and the lads could see him watching them. One of them called him over and paid for him to have a go.
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"We were there 15, 20 minutes watching these lads play. It became apparent they were not going to leave until they won. They spent a lot of money. It was £4 or £5 a go, and they started paying cash - in the end, they ended up swiping their debit cards. It got extreme.
"We were about to go when I saw them win it and Ethan cheered, and they said to Ethan 'which teddy?'. He pointed to one and they took the teddy down and handed it to him.
"It made Ethan's day. He loves cuddly toys."
Michelle, who lives in Grassendale, said she thought the stuffed elephant, which Ethan called Elvis, cost the two men almost £200.
She said: "I really wanted to speak with them more and say thank you, but they just did this amazing good deed and disappeared into the crowd. It was magical. I don't know if they knew how big a thing it was to us, but it was huge. Ethan was over the moon and it means so much to him. The look on his face says it all. He was beaming."
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