An online appeal to raise money for the families of the victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds in a matter of hours.
The Manchester Evening News said it set up the Justgiving fundraiser in response to appeals from readers to find some way to help.
The page, We Stand Together Manchester, had raised just short of £250,000 by 2pm on Tuesday, with thousands more being donated every few minutes.
The MEN said: “Manchester Evening News readers have been asking how they can help, so we have started this fund to help support the families in the aftermath of the attack.”
The MEN’s editor, Rob Irvine, had earlier written a powerful editorial vowing Manchester would not give in to terrorism.
He wrote: “We will carry on, we will make Greater Manchester an even greater place. We will care about each other and support our neighbours. The terrorists will fail. We will prevail.”
Monday evening’s attack shortly after an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena has claimed 22 victims so far, with scores injured and in hospital.
Many of the victims, including eight-year-old Saffie Roussos, are children.
