THE tragedy of the earthquake in Haiti has resulted in a spontaneous fundraising effort much closer to home.

The residents of Wotton-under-Edge are used to pulling together in times of disaster and organisers are hoping that this event will be as successful as one held in 2005 for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

On that occasion, the event took place in the civic centre but this time the entire town hall has been booked for Saturday, January 30 from 10am-3pm.

Organisers are hoping to get as many people on board as possible with a variety of stalls to raise the maximum amount of money.

"We know for definite that we will be serving refreshments and that there will be a raffle," said organiser Janet Walshe, "but we are appealing to anyone who wants to get involved to set up a stall of their choice.

"At the moment we also have the begininings of an unwanted jewellery stand, which is always popular, so we are also asking for donations for that, but people can get involved in whatever way they wish, be it a game, tombola or entertainment.

"There will be plenty of space available as we have the whole of the town hall at our disposal and there is no financial outlay involved for volunteers, so the only issue is getting people on board in a short space of time."

Janet added: "When we did the event in the wake of the tsunami, it started as a coffee morning and people just kept offering to help, so the whole thing snowballed. We are hoping that this will happen again."

If you would like to take part, please contact Janet on 843060.