An elderly American tourist who was viciously robbed went to Sandys Middle School yesterday to say an emotional thank you to the pupils who wrote him get-well letters when he was in hospital.

Ronald Storms said he was overwhelmed to receive around 80 letters from the M1 class after he was attacked at a public telephone booth outside the Fairmont Hamilton Princess last month.

Erlor Dean, the M1 English teacher, encouraged the pupils to write to Mr. Storms when he was in the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital because she knew how distraught he would be feeling in the wake of the assault.

Yesterday the semi-retired lawyer from Windsor Locks, Connecticut, told the students: "This was the best medicine that I got. This was what I needed more than anything else because it represented the true feelings of Bermudians throughout.

"It was an inspiring thing and it was the feeling of Bermuda that came through in your writing to me. I will save all of them forever."

Mr. Storms, 69, who has visited the Island for 30 years, also revealed that the Department of Tourism had offered him a return flight and holiday in Bermuda.

After he spoke, the pupils gave him a warm round of applause and showered him with presents such as cookies and project books.

He told them: "I could have been killed in this attack because it was quite vicious. Allegedly drugs could have been involved, so let me say to all of you: `Say no to drugs'.

"Some of you asked if I would be coming back to Bermuda. Emphatically, I want to tell you all that I will be coming back to Bermuda and I love you people very much.

"Thank you all for caring about my well-being. If you keep that up, that is the spirit that will keep Bermuda strong and will live forever."

Mrs. Dean told The Royal Gazette yesterday: "I thought it would be a good gesture for them to write to him because he was a visitor, and to have that horrific incident happen to him, I thought he would be feeling very lonely being away from home, and our children need to think of others in these times.

"Sometimes they tend to be a bit selfish, and because we are so dependent on tourism, this was a delightful gesture because it lets him know that someone in Bermuda cares about him."

After answering questions from the pupils, student Staphen Dill said: "We would like to say how much we enjoyed your visit and you reading our letters.

"I hope that nothing else bad will happen to you when you visit Bermuda, and it would be great for you to come back to Sandys Middle School any time."

Paul Lemar Smith, 31, of Scenic Heights, Southampton, has been charged with unlawfully wounding Mr. Storms and with stealing from him. He is due to stand trial on January 22.