74483-03WAKE OF THE TSUNAMI: GENEROUS revellers in Swindon have donated about £17,500 for the tsunami appeal in a collection organised by a couple who have holidayed in the disaster area.

Emma Scott, 29, and her partner Richard James, 34, who travelled to the Koh Phi Phi island in Thailand in 2003, decided to raise cash after seeing the devastation the Boxing Day earthquake caused.

Collecting buckets were sent out to pubs, clubs, takeaways and cinemas in the town and in Highworth on New Year's Eve and cash donated has now been counted.

Among the biggest collectors were The Apartment and McKenzie's bar which both raised £1,000.

And former Swindon Town Football Club chairman Rikki Hunt collected £790 from a fundraising party at his home.

"It's incredible that people donated so much," said Mr James. "We've seen Thailand first-hand and the people there are lovely so it's terrible that something like this has happened.

"The shocking scenes were there for us all to see so we felt we had to do something."

The couple, of Old Town, who have a two-month-old baby called Harrison, say it was only because of their son's birth that they were not back out there when the earthquake happened.

DIY stores B&Q, Homebase, Focus and Old Town Hardware donated the collection buckets.

Dave Signorelli, 36, who was among more than 20 people helping with the fundraising effort, said: "We thought we would do well to collect £10,000 but never thought we would surpass it. It just goes to show how generous people can be."

Another generous donation has been made by Clean Step Mats on the Hawksworth industrial estate.

Bosses have donated 600 rubber-backed dust mats, with an original value of £100,000, to the appeal.

Production manager Chris Pond, 37, said: "They will be perfect for flooring, temporary bedding and insulation.

"We felt we had to do something because after watching the scenes it took me back to Live Aid at the time of the Ethiopian famine."

"It's hard to imagine yourself ever being in that position so we wanted to help people as best we could."

Ben Payne