British police donate to China quake victims

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Source: CCTV.com | 07-01-2008 17:03

A small group of British police from Birmingham has donated more than 7,000 pounds to victims in the Sichuan earthquake. The officers travelled from northern England to the Chinese embassy in London to hand over their donation.

Police from China Town in Birmingham ride bikes toward the  Embassy of the People's Republic of China in London, June  30, 2008.(Xinhua Photo)

These 13 police work in Chinatown, in the city of Birmingham. They travelled to London on Monday with the money they collected through fundraising.

They rode their bikes to London, and the journey took them two days. But they said it was worth effort.

Birmingham policeman Steve Holden said, "We work pretty closely with the Chinese community in Birmingham and we saw how the earthquake has affected some of the people we work with. So we thought as we were so close with them, we should do something to help them out and help their relatives. So we thought that charity may be a good idea to make some money."

The police officer who initiated the fundraiser, told CCTV that they feel for the victims.

Birmingham policeman Sergeant Wiyna Ballimy said, "We have spoken to people from over there on the day and I put it into perspective when I imagine the whole city of Birmingham being made homeless. and multiply that by four, five times."

There is a large Chinese community in Birmingham. The earthquake directly or indirectly affected the lives of many.

So far, donations from Britain to Chinese quake victims have exceeded 1.7 million pounds.

Editor:Zhang Ning