THEY may be thousands of miles away from the epicentre but Dorchester residents are getting right to the heart of the matter to help victims of Indonesian earthquakes.

Members of both Dorchester Rotary Clubs will be out in force this week collecting for the thousands of people who were caught up in two earthquakes that have hit the island of Sumatra.

They will be shaking their tins in South Street today and tomorrow in a bid to get as many shoppers as possible digging deep for the 3,000 people still missing in the region.

Aid will also go to people affected by the recent tsunami in Samoa and a typhoon in the Philippines. Rotary members want to send out shelter boxes to the worst-hit areas and need to raise £490 per box.

Each box contains a number of items that will help a family who have lost their home survive, including a tent for 12 people, a stove and water purification tablets.

Rowland Cornell, of Dorchester Casterbridge Rotary Club, said: “We will stand there in rain or shine asking the public if they can spare some money towards the cost of shelter boxes.

“People who give to us will know that the aid will be reaching the people who need it.

“We are hoping that people will give as generously as they did after the tsunami on Boxing Day 2004.”