Bradford businessman Peter Jones is helping flooded Somerset farmers by pledging donations from his car breakers business – and sending them 80 bales of silage.

Mr Jones, whose Thornton Breakers business has traded for more than 25 years off Thornton Road, is going to give £2.50 from every sale of car parts he makes for a month.

“It’s just horrendous what those farmers are going through. We do a lot of trade with farmers up here so it’s our way of giving some thing back to the farming community,” said Mr Jones.

“We can make about 30 to 40 sales a day so the £2.50s will soon mount up.”

Mr Jones has arranged for the silage bales to be transported tomorrow from West Yorkshire to a cattle market in Taunton which is acting as a drop-off point for farmers who can then go along to collect the much-needed aid.

“I read about the appeal and just wanted to do my bit to help,” he said Meanwhile, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service crews are also continuing to work in flood-affected areas of the south and south west of the UK.

At the weekend, command support staff from Batley Fire Station were deployed to Somerset to co-ordinate all the Fire and Rescue Service staff working on flood-relief in the area.

A crew from Stanningley went to Surrey on Friday with a high volume pump capable of pumping 7,000 litres per minute of water from affected areas.

Assistant Chief Officer Dave Walton said: “The last week, and in particular this last weekend, has seen an extraordinary level of activity by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue personnel in providing support to areas affected by floods.

“Nationally, the level of deployment and usage of Fire and Rescue Service assets is arguably the largest since the Second World War.

“This has been a testing time for everyone involved, whether they have been deployed on operations or working in support.

“I would like to pay tribute to everyone involved in this phenomenal effort and thank them on behalf of the countless numbers of people that they have helped.”