TWO major donations and scores of generous gifts from ordinary people have seen hundreds of thousands of pounds raised to help York recover from the floods.

The York Flood Appeal will support those who suffered as a result of the severe flooding that hit the city immediately after Christmas. As of Tuesday, January 5, £240,000 has been raised.

The fund is being coordinated by City of York Council and The Two Ridings Foundation, with proceeds going to the York Disaster Fund, a registered charity that was set up in the aftermath of the floods of 2000.

Two Ridings chief executive Jan Garrill said:

“We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people supporting this appeal. In the space of a week we have received over £240,000. We know that there are hundreds of households affected by flooding and this money will all go to supporting them get back on their feet.

"Thank you to everyone who has made a donation large or small; it will all make a difference.”

Early on, Nestle boosted the fund with a £100,000 donation, and that sum was this week followed by a £75,000 from historic York charity Feoffees of St Michaels Spurriergate.

York Press:

Feofees chairman Edward Waterson said: “This is one of the most significant awards we have made since the Feoffees were founded in 1599 and we hope it will encourage other charitable organisations to join us in contributing to the relief efforts.

"By making this donation we can make a real difference for those residents of York affected by flooding, especially in the immediate aftermath.”

The charity dates back nearly 500 years, and makes grants for general charitable purposes for the benefit of the inhabitants of York and towards the upkeep and maintenance of Church of England churches in York.

Wates Giving has also donated £10,000. It is run by the Wates family, owners of the construction company the Wates Group which bought York-based Shepherd Group Built Environment in October 2015.

Wates Giving director Brian Wheelwright said: “Our business values are heavily focused on supporting the communities in which we work and our strong links within the York community means we want to do want we can as a business to support the city. We hope our donation will help to ease the pain for some of those affected.”

Organisers say money donated will be used to help get people in York whose homes have been flooded to get back to normal as quickly as possible - with grants for things like like essential household items as well as the additional costs of living in temporary accommodation.

Donations so far mean the original £250,000 target has been doubled and the fund is now aiming to raise half a million pounds.