A weekly newspaper has questioned whether it has “the best readers of any paper” after a rapid response to a campaign it launched.

The Surrey-based Herald series posed the question on its front pages after their appeal to help people caught in the Ukraine atrocities hit its £12,000 target inside a week.

The Tindle Newspapers-owned Herald – which has editions in Farnham, Alton, Bordon, Liphook and Haslemere – joined reader Tony Souter to try to raise £12,000 to buy and send domestic generators to Ukraine.

After that target was met within days, a revised £15,000 objective was also within reach less than 24 hours later.

Herald editor Colin Channon said: “With everyone struggling with the cost of living, we asked readers to just donate anything they could afford.

“But Tony said as soon as the paper hit the streets, the JustGiving site was alive with donations and inside a week we had hit the £12,000 target.

“We have published many stories about people the local area welcoming Ukrainian families into their own homes, so we thought the appeal would be well received. But we were amazed how quickly the target was reached.

“In this week’s paper we said we would have a revised target of £15,000 – and inside 24 hours we were in sight of that, too.

“Local newspapers can do so much good, in their own communities and beyond, and every editor knows their readers will always come up trumps.

“It has been heartwarming to see the community come together – and it’s not just the money, we have also had offers of generators and other items.

“A specialist company will be taking the first donation of generators to Ukraine, and Tony will be following soon after in his own car with another large consignment.”

The appeal will be running until the end of the month, as many readers have been in touch pledging more donations.

Mr Souter told the Herald: “There is a massive demand for generators – the people in Ukraine face a harsh winter with temperatures dropping to minus-20 degrees Centigrade, and missile, drone and artillery attacks have destroyed critical infrastructure, hospitals and apartments.

“Because of the hostilities many people are without the essentials we take for granted – water, light and heat – and a reliable source of power from a generator could be a lifesaver.”