Hundreds of pounds has been raised in a matter of days after a regional daily paper threw its weight behind a campaign for a new war memorial.

A week ago the Northern Echo announced its support for an appeal to get a bronze memorial honouring servicemen from the Durham Light Infantry installed in Durham City .

In a matter of days, more than £600 had been donated to the campaign, with more flooding in since.

The story also caught the eye of government defence minister Mark Francois, who pledged his support and promised to visit the statue once built.

It comes after Echo readers helped raise £90,000 towards a bronze statue commemorating the Durham regiment at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

Campaigners now want to see a replica built in the Infantry’s home city.

Launching the campaign, Echo editor Peter Barron wrote:  It is an anomaly that there should be a DLI statue in Staffordshire but not in the regiment’s home county.

“It is time to put that right and The Northern Echo will put its name to a campaign to commission a replica of the statue and place it in the heart of Durham City.

Captain Tony Lynn, former regimental signaller Keith Straughier and former bugler Richard Softley at the unveiling of the original Durham Light Infantry statue at the National Memorial Aboretum in Staffordshire last year

“A statue would be a fitting and highly visible reminder of all the DLI stood for and the sacrifices it made. It would also mean veterans would not have to make the long trip to Staffordshire to see the statue and pay their respects.

“We are, therefore, proud to support the campaign to establish a bronze memorial in the DLI’s home city.”

The statue will symbolise a moment when DLI buglers sounded the ceasefire in Korea in 1953.

Appeal co-ordinator Colonel Arthur Charlton added: “We have had 15 donations ranging from £200 to a fiver. This demonstrates the level of support out there for the project and the regiment.

“It is all in response to Friday’s Northern Echo article – people must have written the cheques as soon as they saw it.”