Two fundraising events in Callington have raised substantial amounts for the Philippines disaster.

A Big Breakfast at Callington Town Hall on Saturday attracted nearly 400 diners, who not only paid £5 each for their meal, but also donated extra on top. The total raised was £3,742 with more still coming in.

Callington resident Merlyn McGuire, a spokesperson for the local Filipino community, decided she must do something to help her homeland where Typhoon Haiyan and a recent earthquake have caused huge destruction.

She contacted her friend Terry Bolt, and with the help of the Methodist church's table tennis club, under the guidance of Tony and Jill Rickard, the plan for the Big Breakfast swung into action.

The club cooked up the meals, served by many waiting volunteers, among them eight teenagers.

Because of Merlyn's contacts, the seven local Filipino families were joined by up to 60 Filipinos from Devon and Cornwall. Many had personal tragedies to relate with their fellow diners.

All the proceeds from the event will go directly to the Catholic Women's League in the Philippines.

Thanks have been given to the helpers and to the sponsors, including Barclays Bank (match funding of £750), Gist Insurance Brokers, Hindles, Country Lane Foods, Penquite Farm, P and J Howell (Butchers), Spar, Co-op, Ginsters and Tesco.

The town crier Tony Stentiford was kept busy proclaiming the events, the second of which was the annual Christmas fair in St Mary's Church, which ran in tandem with the Big Breakfast.

The event raised a total of £1,134 for the Philippines Appeal and the RNLI.