The editor of every local newspaper believes their readers are the best.

But in our case – we KNOW our readers are!

When we joined forces with Tony Souter to try to raise funds to buy and send vital generators to Ukraine, we asked readers to help us hit £12,000.

You did that inside a week. As Tony said, as soon as the paper hit the streets last Thursday, the JustGiving site ‘lit up’.

Knowing everyone is finding the cost of living difficult, we decided to continue the appeal to see if we could reach £15,000.

We thought that would be a tall order – and although confident our readers would see us through, it might take a while.

The paper came out on Thursday. By the weekend, the £15,000 target had been reached – and surpassed.

We join Tony in thanking each and every reader from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity and support.

Tony says: “The response to the campaign has been nothing short of remarkable. We were always hoping readers would appreciate the work we are doing and would want to try to help, but the scale of their support has been way beyond everything we could have imagined.”

The appeal totaliser has reached £15,000 and the target will not be increased. But so many people have pledged to donate to the appeal that it will be running until the end of the month.

Tony added: “We’ve reached our target twice now but we’re going to keep the campaign running as the need for generators hasn’t gone away – quite the contrary.

“A number of new donors have promised contributions but we feel we don’t need a target any more.

“We’ve raised the target for donations twice now and in a very short time you’ve exceeded both in extraordinary displays of generosity and empathy.

“Rather than raising the bar to a new challenging headline level, we’re just going to gently edge it up incrementally on the JustGiving site without razzmatazz or fanfare.

“Our wonderful supporters already know the score – more funding translates into more generators for our Ukrainian friends.”

We will continue to highlight the appeal in the paper, recounting the stories of people from Ukraine who live locally, the people who are helping them, and how Tony and his teams of volunteers will be getting the generators to where they are needed the most.

We will also keep readers informed of the progress of the amount of money raised – remember, every penny counts and we are hugely grateful for any sum you can pledge.

You have done the paper – and Tony, and the Energise Ukraine appeal – proud over the past couple of weeks, and for that we say a heartfelt thank you. There are many, many people who will never forget your generosity.

Donate to the JustGiving webpage at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/energiseukraine