A Bradford school has had a record response after it appealed to its pupils to help the victims of the Indian earthquake.

Youngsters at Princeville School, in Willowfield Street, Legrams Lane, have raised £620 - the highest amount the school has raised for a single appeal - after holding a collection for survivors of the disaster.

Headmaster Peter Steele said: "It's the most we've ever raised for an appeal. It's great - the reaction was instant. It shows what an impact the earthquake has had on the children."

The school will now donate the cash to the Hindu relief agency Sewa which is sending volunteers to help in the Gujarat region which was decimated by the earthquake.

And offers of help have been flooding in for the Telegraph & Argus's joint appeal with the United Nations Children Charity Unicef which was launched last week.

Louis Coles, Unicef Regional Officer for the North East, said: "The response of the readers of the T&A has been fantastic, it will help Unicef to provide immediate emergency supplies.

"Thanks to your help, Unicef Family Survival Kits are being distributed to the thousands of families who have lost everything they own, including the roof over their heads, providing them with vitally-needed supplies.

"We need you to keep being as generous as you can. Thousands of families in outlying villages have yet to receive help, only with your support can we continue our life-saving work."

Mr Coles said that volunteers were now counting the pledges sent in by T&A readers.

David Bull, Executive Director of Unicef UK, left for Ahmedabad this weekend to see at first hand how money donated by T&A readers was being spent saving children in the aftermath of the earthquake.

He will be travelling with supply vehicles to the worst affected areas and joining Unicef Gujarat staff who are working around the clock.

Mr Bull said the needs of the survivors are growing daily, with clean water supplies becoming a priority.

The region has suffered from severe drought conditions over the past two years and the earthquake has accelerated the water crisis. Now the risk of contamination is high and a diarrhoea and dysentery epidemic is a serious threat.

One of Unicef's major targets now is to distribute millions of chlorine tablets and tonnes of bleaching powder so that communities can safely use whatever water is available for drinking purposes.

Unicef assistance also includes generators to re-instate water supply in villages.