Members of Minehead Rotary club have been out in force collecting for the earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria.

The team was based at the Old Hospital with collection points along the Avenue.

A spokesperson said: "We had a very successful day, collecting over £1200 in a little under 6 hours. This is enough to support eight families of five with clean water for up to five years and equipment to build shelters, cooking equipment and other essential supplies.

"Monies raised will be split between Water Survival Boxes and Shelter Boxes.

"Talking to the organisers today of the Water Survival boxes they are planning to send at least 1000 boxes to Turkey and Syria. 200 are already at Heathrow airport waiting to be flown out.

"We cannot thank the people and visitors of Minehead enough for their generosity. If you would like to donate directly to these charities the web addresses are www.watersurvivalbox.org and www.shelterbox.org these emergency boxes will help keep people alive and help prevent waterborne illnesses."

Tens of thousands of people are reported to have died in the series of earthquakes which flattened buildings across large areas of Turkey and Syria over a week ago. A large international relief effort is under way to support victims of the disaster.