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Local news website raises £20,000 in a day for Grenfell fire victims

A local news website has raised more than £20,000 in one day for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

Get West London launched a fundraising appeal yesterday for around 500 people who are believed to live at the ravaged tower.

At least 12 people died and more than 74 were injured when the blaze struck the high rise block, in Kensington, London, shortly before 1am yesterday.

Get West London, which is run by Trinity Mirror, set up a JustGiving page to help the tragedy’s victims with the initial aim of raising £5,000 – but the target was smashed within a couple of hours and the total now stands at £20,000.

Grenfell

Charlotte Neal, content editor at Get West London, told HTFP: “As the horror of what happened at Grenfell Tower unfolded this morning, so many of our journalists and readers were asking what they could do to help.

“In response, we decided to launch a JustGiving page to not only financially support the people affected, but also show them some love at this terrible time.

“The pain they must be feeling is unimaginable; they’ve lost everything – for some, it’s not just their homes and memories, but also their loved ones. We wanted to bring hope to them in their darkest hour and show that west Londoners and beyond are united in helping them get back on their feet.

“We’ll continue to fundraise as hard as we can to support them. We have the means to reach people far and wide and we wanted to use that as best we could. Grenfell residents, we’re thinking of you.”

A message on the site reads: “Emergency supply collection points and shelter areas have already been set up nearby. If you’re not currently in west London but want to help in some way, now you can.

“Although we’ll never be able to replace their loved ones, memories and homes, we can help them rebuild. We can show them that there’s a whole country of people willing to support them as best as we can.”

The fundraising bid comes after Get West London’s Trinity Mirror sister title the Manchester Evening News raised millions of pounds to help the families of the victims of last month’s Manchester Arena terror attack, as well as those injured in the atrocity.

To donate the Get West London appeal, click here.