Thank you all, 12 million times over!

From the tycoon who pledged a million to the pensioner who handed over her pension money, everyone gave from the heart.

Thanks to the enormous compassion of our readers, the Daily Mail's Flood Aid appeal stands at an incredible £12million.

Today, as we wind down our fundraising efforts, we thank everyone, young and old, rich and poor, who has given to help the victims of the tsunami.

Their plight evoked an extraordinary response from our readers.

Not only did you want to give, you wanted to keep on giving. And if sacrifices had to be made to do so, you simply went ahead and made them.

It expects to have raised £200million - five per cent of which will come from Mail readers. More than 200,000 of you have have given to our appeal. Some gave up their pensions, while many children raided their piggy banks.

The DEC's chief executive, Brendan Gormley, said: "This wonderful response from Daily Mail readers has shown that the British people care deeply about the lives of the poor on the other side of the world."

The child victims

The emphasis will be on helping the child victims of the disaster.

Many thousands are now orphans with no one to look after them. They are the most vulnerable to the threatened march of diseases which could kill more people than the sea.

As the death toll continues to rise, aid workers are telling of children forced to scavenge for food and drink from stagnant pools.

Their welfare will be a key focus of Flood Aid.

Please take this opportunity to help in any way you can.

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