Bridgnorth Lions raise £550 for Australian bush fires appeal
More than £550 will be donated to the Australian bush fires appeal thanks to the kindness of people from a Shropshire town.
The Bridgnorth Lions group held a high street collection in aid of the cause and will grant donations from members of the public to an affiliate group in Australia.
Spokesman for the Lions, Chris Aked, said: "The Bridgnorth public were very generous in support of this huge natural disaster.
"They can be reassured that the money they have donated will be well spent as it's given directly to the Lions organisation in Australia.
"We have hundreds of clubs there and many of them are directly involved in helping people affected."
Since November, the Lions Clubs International Foundation has awarded more than £260,000 in grant funds, with more expected to be approved in the coming weeks.
Australia has now identified 113 animal species which will need "urgent help" after their numbers and habitats were devastated by the bushfires.
Despite the government stating there appears to be no extinctions, almost all species on the list had lost at least 30 per cent of their habitat due to the mammoth blazes in the south and east over Australia's summer.
Experts have estimated more than one billion animals have been killed so far.
Koalas, wallabies, bird, fish and frog species are among those most at risk.
