The head of international children charity's UNICEF has praised the generosity of Telegraph & Argus readers after a fantastic response to our Indian Earthquake appeal.

David Bull, executive director of UNICEF UK, today announced that T&A readers have raised about £3,000 in the appeal's first few days.

Mr Bull, who recently travelled to the Gujarat region where the earthquake devastated hundreds of town and villages, said the aid was still desperately needed.

He said: "It's a fantastic amount of money and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the relief effort. We've raised about £20,000 across the whole of the north east, so the T&A is a sizeable proportion of that.

"People can rest assured that their money is being well used. We are currently giving out survival kits to families who have lost everything in the earthquake.

"The kits cost around £30 so you can get a lot for £3,000. T&A readers have helped a lot of families."

Mr Bull said that he had been overwhelmed by seeing the scale of the disaster and he added: "It's a fairly staggering experience. It's only when you are out there that you can appreciate the tremendous scale and power of what's happened."

While the relief work continues in Gujarat, fundraising efforts are also continuing in Bradford.

Youngsters from the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh youth group organised a street collection in Bradford city centre on Saturday and raised £3,065 which will be passed to the Sewa International charity for its emergency Earthquake Appeal.

Another collection on Sunday at a Morrisons superstore in Bradford raised a further £1,900 from the store's shoppers and staff.

Group secretary Ashwin Mistry said: "It is a good sum to collect and we are very chuffed. We very much appreciate the contribution made by the 40 young volunteers who, despite cold weather, turned up to take part in the collection."