Settle Rotarians were quick off the mark to respond to the disaster in the Philippines – and a cheque for £2,600 is now on its way to the Rotary Club of the Holy Spirit in Quezon which is close to the disaster area.

Thanks to the generosity of the line-dancing Settle Stompers who gave £1,000, and U3A who collected £500, together with collections made by Rotarians locally, the cheque represents the first part of the club’s response.

The recent wine tasting event, held in collaboration with Booths Supermarket, raised more than £700 which enabled the club to send a third Shelter Box (each cost £590) to the disaster area.

And further Shelter Box was sent with funds raised in Malham by residents and the WI led by Dorothy Carr and Imogen Swales.

Additional collections have enabled the club to transfer a further £600 direct to the Philippine Rotary Club.

Settle’s international committee chairman Brian Jackson said: “The money will fund soup kitchens – the first of which is in Ormoc on the west coast of the island of Leyt and in the centre of the affected area. I am informed that £2,400 is enough to feed 1,000 people three meals a day for three days.”