TODAY is the final day of the Echo Beslan Appeal - so there is still time to make a last-minute donation.

Dorset Echo readers joined our final push to raise money for the shattered community, still reeling from the atrocity in Middle School Number One.

Scores of last-minute pledges have arrived at Echo offices over the weekend in a bid to help reach the £10,000 mark.

And every penny is now being counted towards building a brighter future for survivors of the bloody school massacre, that saw 1,000 children and adults taken hostage and 320 Russians killed.

Workers across the county have teamed up with colleagues to raise what they can for the fund, which will be used to help the families of Beslan.

Staff who work in the X-ray department of Dorset County Hospital have given more than £100 to the Echo Beslan Appeal, after holding a dress-down day and a raffle.

Secretary Kate Slade said 50 prizes of wine, sweets and chocolates were donated within two days, and everybody bought a lot of tickets.

She said: "Our department is really good at fundraising and they rose to the challenge brilliantly.

"Everybody, from consultants to radiographers, was really supportive, and we collected £120.10.

"My daughter recently started school and we thought it would be really good to do something.

"We send our children to school and do not dream anything like the Beslan tragedy would ever happen to them."

Elsewhere, Medipost (UK) on the Granby Industrial Estate in Weymouth has made out a cheque for £100 to our fund.

Diana Apps, one of the directors at the firm, which provides medical equipment and nursing supplies, said: "Of course, the pictures from Beslan upset us, you could not fail to be moved. The money won't bring back the children but it might make life more bearable for their families, perhaps buy them some treats."

We would like to say thank you for every single donation, no matter how big or small. We don't know the name of everybody who made cash donations but we are extremely grateful for every one.