KIND-HEARTED people in Tynedale have raised thousands of pounds to help the people of Ukraine.

The Rotary Club of Hexham's Disaster Fund team arranged with the town's Waitrose to collect funds outside their shop on behalf of the Red Cross on Friday and Saturday last week (March 4 and 5).

The people of Tynedale responded generously, with a total of £8,031 raised through cash and card donations.

Rob Hart, from Hexham Rotary, said: "We have over the years been involved in many collections.

"In terms of the volume and amount of donations in the short time available, this was perhaps the most generous ever."

Rotary International has more than 1.4 million members belonging to around 40,000 clubs in more than 200 countries, and is one of the largest service organisations in the world.