The generosity of members of a Bradford mosque has been praised by organisers of flood relief in hard-hit Cumbria.

More than 1,000 Muslims at Thornbury’s Madni Mosque had a whip round and raised £5,000 for people whose homes were flooded.

And £1,000 of this will go to the family of Cumbrian Police Sergeant Bill Barker who died after a bridge where he was diverting traffic collapsed.

The Rev Martyn Evans, convenor of Churches Together in Cockermouth – the area most affected by flooding – said: “This is a wonderful and compassionate act. It shows that religions at their best really do have the capacity to unite us over and above our differences.”

Mr Evans and Bradford’s ecumenical Touchstone Project put together a group from Churches Together in Bradford to receive the donation (above). Among the group were Pakistani Christian minister, the Rev Dominic Mughal, and his wife, Awais, and Bradford Cathedral’s Canon, Andy Williams.

The £5,000 cheque was paid through Yorkshire Crescent, a disaster relief organisation set up by Bradford businessmen.

Mr Mughal said: “Money has been given to people outside Britain. This is the first time they have given money to people in Britain. They see this as their country and the people of Cumbria as their people.”

Mosque member Ithsham Tariq said: “The Imam spoke to us and said whenever there’s an international disaster the UK public gives generously, so this was our chance to give something back. Cumbria is a stone’s throw away from Bradford. It’s all so familiar to us.”

Canon Andy Williams said: “The president of the mosque and the Imam spoke positively about their aim of strengthening ties between the Muslim and Christian communities, saying we all live in the UK and need to support one another.”