It is excellent news that a hospital built thanks to a massive charitable effort by Telegraph & Argus readers is due to open its doors next month.

It has been a long road for the hospital in Pakistan to reach this point – but it would never have happened at all but for the generosity of readers of this newspaper.

The Telegraph & Argus teamed up with the Lord Mayor of Bradford’s Kashmir Earthquake Appeal Trust – and later another charity in the Midlands, which was combined with the local efforts – in the wake of a devastating earthquake in Azad Kashmir in 2005.

The fundraising of local people – it amounted to almost £82,000 – truly astonished both us and the charity operators.

The pictures of the earthquake and its tragic aftermath that cost 87,000 people their lives were beamed around the world, but it was here in Bradford where the response was most telling.

The new hospital has a ward named after the Telegraph & Argus to honour every single one of our readers who dug deep, organised charitable events, or donated whatever they could afford to the appeal.

The building is constructed to withstand further earthquakes in this zone which is prone to seismic activity, and should the worst occur again it will be a vital and life-saving facility that should help to prevent a repeat of loss on such a terrible scale again.

It is testimony to the people of Bradford that the plight of people half a world away touched their hearts and caused such a wonderful response, and proof that basic human decency knows no borders or boundaries.