How YOU can help the Manchester victims – by donating your old mobile phone to our Mail appeal

THE appalling images of innocent children killed and injured in the Manchester terror atrocity united Britain in revulsion. The families of the 22 killed have seen their worlds collapse. Dozens of victims remain in hospital with horrific injuries. Many survivors of the bombing have been left deeply traumatised.

That is why today the Daily Mail is launching our Mobiles for Manchester appeal to help those affected by the terror attack, by asking readers to donate their unwanted mobile phones to be re-used or recycled.

Many of us will have one old phone — or several — gathering dust in a drawer somewhere in our homes.

And they are almost all worth money, from a few pounds to hundreds for more upto-date smartphones.

The bulk of the money raised by Mail readers will go to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, to support the injured and bereaved. We will also send some to inter-faith charities to help communities unite against terror.

Research has revealed that more than a third of UK households have at least one unwanted phone.

All those unused handsets could be worth almost £1billion — and even a fraction of that amount could make a huge difference to the victims of Monday’s bombing.

The Mail has teamed up with Carphone Warehouse, which has agreed to accept your old mobiles in its 1,000 stores across the country.

Anyone who wants to donate their mobile phone can take it to any branch of Carphone Warehouse from today onwards (you will find the web address of an online store-finder in the coupon box on the opposite page).

You should tell staff you want to donate it to the Mobiles for Manchester appeal. They will accept your phone and, if you have not cleared the data from it at home (see panel right for an explanation), you should ask the staff to do so.

After that it will be valued, and Carphone Warehouse has agreed that all money raised from phone donations will go to the Mail’s appeal.

The company has also generously kick-started the appeal by donating 1,000 phones, with a value of £25,000.

Thanks to huge public support, in just four days more than £4 million has already been donated to the We Love Manchester fund, run by Manchester City Council in conjunction with the British Red Cross.

But the injured victims and bereaved families will need support for years to come, particularly those left with lifechanging injuries.

Ian Hanson, chairman of the Greater Manchester branch of the Police Federation, said last night: ‘I’m sure that I speak for everybody in Greater Manchester Police in backing this great initiative, and I would encourage anyone with an old mobile phone to take part.

‘I know everybody in Manchester has been immensely touched by the way people across the country have rallied round in support — and this is another example of that.’

Greater Manchester’s newly elected mayor Andy Burnham, a former Labour Cabinet minister, last night backed the Mail’s campaign and encouraged people to donate their old phones.

He said: ‘Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones, so I would encourage everyone to support this fund in any way they can.’ Carphone Warehouse managing director Jeremy Fennell said: ‘Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the events in Manchester on Monday.

‘Mobiles for Manchester is a great way of showing our solidarity and helping the families and community affected, so we are proud to be able to play our part.

‘Millions of people have old mobile phones.

‘Bring them in to our stores and we will turn them into cash to go directly to those affected by the bombing.’