FILM star Ewan McGregor has praised the generosity of Examiner readers towards the tsunami victims.

McGregor, a UK ambassador of the charity Unicef, paid tribute to the hundreds of people who have so far raised more than £40,000 to help people in Asian.

He said: "The response from Huddersfield Examiner readers to Unicef's Asia Tsunami Children's Emergency Appeal has been astounding.

He said: "I would like to thank all your readers for their swift and generous donations.

"The funds received have enabled Unicef to get to work immediately to save and rebuild children's lives in all the tsunami- affected countries.

"We have already provided hundreds of tonnes of supplies, including water tanks, tents, water purification tablets, vaccines, supplementary food for and school supplies.

"Unicef's experts are working on the ground to rehabilitate schools, provide water and sanitation facilities, health services, trauma counselling, child registration and family reunification services.

"Your support has ensured that Unicef was able to direct resources to those in need without delay."

He added that now that the initial emergency phase was over, the support meant that Unicef could turn its efforts to the longer term rehabilitation and recovery needs of the children and families.

Louis Coles, regional fundraising manager for Unicef in Yorkshire said: "The readers of the Huddersfield Examiner have been fantastic. The support and generosity shown by everyone across West Yorkshire for Unicef has been overwhelming."

Unicef now had enough to cover its work for the coming six months.