DORSET Echo readers have raised more than £1,000 in the first few days of our appeal to help the victims of the Philippines typhoon disaster.

We joined forces with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which encompasses all of the UK major aid agencies, as it launched an urgent appeal for help.

Our readers have again shown that they can be counted on when we ask them to help those in desperate need.

Over the years our readers have raised tens of thousands of pounds to aid those hit by disasters around the globe, from the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 to the Haiti earthquake of 2010.

Among those helping the cause was a quiz team who donated their winnings to the Echo’s Typhoon Appeal.

Team SOS entered the weekly quiz at The Boot in Weymouth on Wednesday.

Boot manager Kev Strickland said that from the second the team sat down they said they would donate any winnings to the Echo’s appeal.

The team came second after battling it out with ten other teams to claim their prize of £30.

They donated it to the appeal to help the thousands of people affected by the devastating typhoon that hit the Philippines.

Mr Strickland said he thought the appeal was ‘brilliant.’ He said: “They must have read the appeal in the Echo, because as soon as they sat down they said that if they won they would donate it to the charity.

“It was really good of them – they could have spent it behind the bar.”

The DEC said its charity appeal to help the 11.5 million people affected by the disaster has raised £23 million in two days and the Government has given more than £20 million in aid.

The money raised by the DEC appeal is already being put to good use.

An RAF cargo plane packed with aid has taken off for the Philippines to help with the relief effort following the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan.

The huge C-17 transport plane filled with heavy duty vehicles and medical supplies left RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire as part of Britain’s emergency response to the disaster.

The aircraft, being operated by No 99 Squadron, is due to land in the Philippines this morning.

Its load includes two JCB diggers, two Land Rovers and a forklift truck emblazoned with stickers reading “UK aid from the British people”.

A 12-strong team of British doctors, surgeons and paramedics have landed in the capital Manila, to help treat survivors of the typhoon, the Department for International Development (DfID) said.

How you can donate to the DEC appeal

  • VISIT dorsetecho.co.uk/ typhoon for more information. To make a donation, you can send a cheque made payable to ‘DEC Philippines Typhoon Appeal’ to the Dorset Echo offices at Granby Industrial Estate, Hampshire Road, Weymouth DT4 9XD; Antelope Walk, Dorchester DT1 1BE or payable to the Bridport News, 67 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LB.

You can also visit dec.org.uk or call the 24-hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900, donate over the counter at any high street bank or post office or send a cheque. You can also make a donation of £5 by texting the word SUPPORT to 70000.

What your money will buy those in need:

  • £25 – Water purification tablets for ten families for a month
  • £50 – Feed a family for two weeks
  • £100 – Emergency shelter and bedding for a family