HARDEN and Wilsden Women’s Institutes have been hard at work knitting 'teddies for tragedies' out of spare wool to include in Rotary club boxes sent to emergency areas around the world.

So-called Aquaboxes are made from sturdy plastic and contain more than 60 items of humanitarian aid plus an Aqua Filter which can produce at least 18,000 litres of safe drinking water.

Working along with the WI, Ann Preston, of The Ring O’ Bells in Thornton, Bradford, has enlisted her friends to knit teddies and donate other cuddly animals for the project.

Together they have produced about 50 teddies, cuddly toys and blankets which will now be boxed and sent to any part of the world where a disaster has occurred.

Doctors have found that children who have their own teddies to cuddle get better much quicker than those who do not have one.

Responding to the current disaster in Nepal, there are already more than 600 boxes ready to send to the earthquake areas.

Anyone wishing to organise a knitting 'teddies for tragedies' group can download the pattern at aquabox.org.