People in West Lothian have shown overwhelming support to victims of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
So far 30,000 have been killed and thousands more have been made homeless.
Both Home Aid and the West Lothian 50+ Network have been co-ordinating the collection of clothes and other essentials to help survivors cope with the freezing weather.
The 50+ Network opened up its hub in Bathgate to receive blankets, clothes, shoes and other items which will now be sent to Turkey and Syria.
Kate Blake has been co-ordinating the appeal for the charity,
She the response had been phenomenal and thanked everyone who had donated.
Kate said: “I now have over 520 bags of stuff, full of clothes including warm jackets, jumpers, warm footwear and bedding for men, women and children.
“We bagged it all up and wrote the labels in Turkish as well English, because we didn’t know who would be distributing it at the other end.
“The appeal went viral through Facebook, we had lots of people come and deliver stuff and I had teams of volunteers, all from the network, helping to bag and tag everything.
“At the moment we’re negotiating how to get it all over there, one of our main guys in the office is speaking to people just now and we’re hoping to be organised as soon as we can.”
Kate continued: “Tesco were great, they gave us hundreds of black bags, which was a massive help and The Boss, the Turkish cafe in Bathgate, has stored everything for us because the 50+ members wouldn’t have got into their office, there’s that much.
“These people have got nothing, so we’re given them some warmth and hopefully a little bit of hope in knowing people care.”
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