Charity appeals by a group of weekly newspapers have raised a bumper £270,000 from readers which will benefit more than 200 organisations.

The Lichfield Mercury and Sutton Coldfield Observer, part of Northcliffe’s Central Independent News and Media, have both run ‘Buy A Bed’ campaigns for St Giles Hospice – raising £74,000 in total to buy eight beds.

And the Great Midlands Fun Run, an annual charity event launched by the newspaper group in 2003, has revealed its grand total for 2010, with £200,450 raised to benefit more than 200 charities.

CIN group editor Gary Phelps said it had been an ‘incredible’ year for their fundraising efforts and he was pleased at the support from readers despite the economic downturn.

He said: “The Great Midlands Fun Run has a great track record for pulling big figures – it’s raised £1m since we launched it in 2003 – and we’ve been amazed by the response to our two Buy A Bed appeals.

“It shows that even in these troubled times our readers are willing to support causes that matter to them.”

The Sutton Coldfield Observer’s Buy A Bed appeal had aimed to raise funds for two beds but it smashed its target after an individual donation of £40,000 – allowing it to fund six beds at the hospice with its total of £54,000.

And the Lichfield Mercury hit its £20,000 target for two specialist beds there.

CIN is also set to launch its third Buy A Bed fundraising appeal in the Tamworth Herald next year.