Rotary Clubs across Bradford districr have collected more than £30,000 in notes and coins donated to bucket collections for the victims of the Tsunami disaster.

The ten clubs in the Bradford group raised £32,000 in response to the Boxing Day tragedy which is believed to have claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people in South Asia, including 249 Britons.

The group's assistant governor Chris Bown said the clubs had raised more than twice what they would normally expect to collect during an entire year.

She said: "The response has just been fantastic. All of our members turned out to take part in the collections.

"At my club we went to a supermarket on our first day and collected thousands. People were throwing in £40, £50 or £100, shoppers were emptying their wallets and their purses."

She added: "I think it is because it happened at Christmas and it was on the television screens. And a lot of people have been on holiday where it happened. I had been to three or four of the places and I think it makes people feel more personally involved."

The Bradford group of Rotary Club comprises Bradford, Bradford Blaize, Bradford Bronte, Bradford West, Bingley, Bingley Airedale, Haworth and Worth Valley, Idle and Greengates, Keighley and Shipley. Mrs Bown said: "At my club we would normally expect to collect £3,000 throughout the year but that is going to be a lot higher now because of the tsunami appeal."

The cash will be used to send aquaboxes, which contain equipment to purify water, and shelter boxes, which contain shelter and cooking equipment for ten people, to the affected areas.

Meanwhile, a Bradford businessman has co-ordinated more than £2 million of pledges to help rebuild lives and communities destroyed in the tsunami disaster.

Zulfi Hussain, head of an international management consultancy in Bradford is spearheading a new not-for-profit organisation Global Promise.

Mr Hussain, who has stepped down as chairman of the Asian Business Development Network, says he will be dedicating time to the project.

And a celebration of the Muslim festival of Eid has helped to raise £1,500 for the appeal. People gathered at the Pakistan Community Centre on White Abbey Road to enjoy an evening of dancing and dining. Food was donated by Bradford companies, including Mumtaz Paan House, Anam's Restaurant and Kashmir Crown Bakeries. And Regal Sweets and Yaadgaar Sweets gave dessert.