The Derby Telegraph is bidding to raise £138,000 to help communities affected by poverty or natural disasters purify their water.

The Northcliffe daily has teamed up with a local charity called Aquabox for the campaign called Give Water Give Life because it has seen donations dry up due to the recession.

As a result of the recent earthquake in Indonesia, existing stock is virtually at zero so more of the purification kits must be bought and sent out to communities who desperately need them.

Donations to the charity, which is based near Matlock, are also at their lowest for seven years.

Aquabox wants to introduce a range of more efficient water purification kits capable of cleaning thousands more litres of dirty water.

The kits, which also include tools, hygiene items and cooking equipment, were successfully used following the Indian Ocean tsunami five years ago and the cyclone’s which ripped through Burma last year.