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Regional daily donates £1,000 to families of factory collapse victims

A £1,000 donation has been made by a regional daily to the families of five men who died in a factory collapse.

The Birmingham Mail Charity Trust is donating from its fund to the cause after the deaths of the workers at a recycling plant in the city.

A concrete and metal wall collapsed on the men, believed to be Spanish nationals of Gambian origin, yesterday, with the Mail splashing on the tragedy today.

Mail editor Marc Reeves said staff at the newspaper and trustees at the charity were united in grief and all wanted to do something to help.

Birmingham collapse

He added: “As journalists, we encounter harrowing events every day – and as human beings, we are often touched by them.

“But yesterday five men wave goodbye to their families one morning, turn up for an honest day’s toil and now their wives and children will never see them again.

“Nothing can ever bring them back, but the generous response from our readers already show people want to play a part in supporting them however they can – and we are no different.”

The charity has been running got more than a century, and previously offered a Christmas tree fund and a boots fund for the poor in Birmingham.

The charity is chaired by former Birmingham Post editor Stacey Barnfield, who now runs his own PR firm.

He said: “The charity has always been there to support the city in times of need and it always will be.

“This is exactly the sort of cause it was set up to help with. Nothing can bring these men back but we are happy to be able to lend a hand in supporting their families.”