KIND Rotarians have launched a fundraising appeal to help people affected by a deadly earthquake which struck parts of Turkey and Syria.

More than 50,000 people are believed to have lost their lives in the devastating disaster, which reduced large parts of the two countries to rubble.

Gourock Rotary Club has stepped up to raise cash to help with the relief effort and buy much needed supplies for the millions who have lost their homes.

The funds from the club's appeal will be donated to Disaster Aid UK & Ireland, an organisation which helps Rotary clubs help relief efforts across the world.

The club's international convenor and ambassador for Disaster Aid Uk & Ireland, John MacLeod, told the Telegraph that the charity's work could play a vital part in helping those affected by the disaster.

He said: "Disaster Aid don't jump in right away when something like this happens.

"They send out their Disaster Aid Response Teams (DARTs) to do reconnaissance and link up with local Rotary clubs who have knowledge of the situation.

"It must be very chaotic out there at the moment, but once everything is in place the money from our club's fundraiser will go out to a nominated club over there.

"That way it bypasses government involvement.

"This allows people here to contribute to the aid that's going out without having to figure out how to get the aid out there themselves.

"Disaster Aid can help in a variety of ways, for example they might source local timber and corrugated iron to help rebuild houses.

"That helps the people in need while also putting money into the local economy."

The local Rotary club has a history of assisting international relief efforts, having most recently sent money to help those affected by the war in Ukraine via a club based in Mykolaiv.

Club president Archie Mackinlay said the Rotarians were proud to support the aid work.

He added: "Disaster Aid send very comprehensive packages which include things like tents, cooking implements and water purification.

"These are very useful items for people in a situation like the one in Turkey.

"Anyone who wants to donate can do so through our link and the money will all go directly to the coalface, with no admin fees being sliced off.

"All of it will go to a disaster aid kit or to relieve the disaster that's unfolding there.

"If the same thing happened here you'd hope someone would help us.

"In the Syrian areas which are affected there's a war going on and the government doesn't seem to be doing an awful lot to help them.

"It may not be in a position to do that, but the decent thing for us to do is to try and help out.

"There's a duty on us to try and alleviate the problem.

"Times are tough at the moment and I know there isn't a lot of cash going about, but it would be nice to get some money that we can send out and help in some way."

*To donate to the Rotary Club appeal online visit https://bit.ly/3ZptUQC or visit their Twitter page.