Devastated Mozambique donates £40 to Yorkshire flood victims

The government in flood-hit Mozambique has had a whip-round to help Yorkshire people affected by flooding.

MPs in the impoverished African country have taken pity on those who lost their homes and raised one million meticals, the equivalent of stg£40 - a huge amount in that country.

Mozambique itself has been suffering long-term, catastrophic flooding. More than 700 people have died and half a million have been left homeless. In Yorkshire, 200 people were forced from their houses.

The TV images inspired Eduardo Mulembwe, the Speaker of the National Assembly, to stage a collection.

Mr Mulembwe contacted Anne McIntosh, Conservative MP for the Vale of York, to tell her. She said: "I was so touched. It is remarkable generosity for a country that has been through such a dreadful time itself.

"We have had a lot of quite big donations to our fund but this one is by far the most important. We will never forget them.

"We are going to keep in contact with Mr Mulembwe now, and I hope we will be able to reciprocate in some way."

The gesture is all the more remarkable because Mozambique is currently under cyclone and flood warnings.

As the waters rise again, the Mozambican Navy has evacuated 8,000 people from risk areas using rubber boats donated in response to last year's floods. Britons donated £30 million to flood relief.