Milton Keynes holds mass sew-in to make pouches for injured Australian bush fire animals

Crowds gathered at The Zip Yard at intu Milton Keynes from 4pm on Sunday, all wanting to give something to help the animals that have lost their habitat to bush fires

The youngest helper was just seven years old and the eldest, 90

Collectively, they cut, stitched and fashioned more than 1,000 pouches, which will now be sent to Australia to give young animals such as joeys, possums and koalas support and comfort..

It is estimated that one billion animals have already lost their lives in the fire.

After seeing the reports on TV, staff at The Zip Yard launched an appeal that went viral and reached close to a million people across the world.

“The response has been phenomenal, we’ve had messages of support from all around the world,” said Russell Golding.

He added: “Sunday’s event was wonderful and incredibly humbling to see so many people from all generations come together, give up their time, and help a country thousands of miles away. The sense of community spirit was fantastic and I’m thankful to every single person that has donated in some way.”

Shelley Peppard, centre director at intu Milton Keynes said: “Well done to The Zip Yard for taking on a great initiative and for bringing together a community. Through everyone’s efforts, their hard work will have an extremely positive impact on the welfare of animals in Australia.”

The Zip Yard is located at the top of the escalator on the first floor of intu Milton Keynes above O2 and opposite Five Guys.