The Midcounties Co-operative has raised more than £28,000 for the thousands of people displace by last year’s typhoon in the Philippines.

Over the last three weeks staff at the society’s 240 food stores encouraged customers to contribute loose change by placing buckets at the end of every checkout to support the ongoing relief efforts.

The Co-operative Food store on Brewery Street in Highworth raised £950, while twelve other stores raised more than £500 each through their collections.

Mark Wilson, group general manager, for food retail said: “Raising over £28,000 in only three weeks is a huge achievement and we really appreciate the very generous donations from our customers, who have been incredibly supportive, and the hard work our colleagues put in to make it possible.

Retailers across the UK made a weighty contribution to the typhoon appeal since it hit in November.

Rav Garcha’s Nisa Local store in Gains Park, Shrewsbury raised more than £1,000 in a fundraising drive while the Southern Co-operative also donated £10,000 to the International Co-operative Alliance’s (ICA) recovery fund.