Boy's Ukrainian bowl raffle raises almost £255,000

Gabriel Clark's raffle went viral with thousands of people donating to help Ukrainian refugees

A 12-year-old boy who carved a wooden bowl to raffle in aid of Ukrainian refugees has raised almost £255,000.

Gabriel Clark, from Cumbria, went viral online when his father appealed for people to follow his son's Instagram account.

Tweets of support came from author JK Rowling, comedian Stephen Fry and actor Jason Isaacs.

The raffle winner was announced on Sunday 17 April with the fundraising page left open for a further six days.

Gabriel, who took up woodwork after being given his grandfather's hammer, said he was "blown away" by the donations which will be given to charity.

"I hope that the money can help Save the Children to provide more support to kids who've been impacted by the conflict with things like food, water and a safe place to sleep."

The bowl was etched with blue and yellow rings to symbolise the Ukrainian flag.

Gabriel's dad, Richard, said the response had been "incredible" after they initially set a fundraising target of £5,000.

"I never imagined that my tweet would turn into this amazing thing. Somehow, it's resulted in people donating [over] £250,000 to help children in Ukraine."

Save the Children said the funds would be used to help distribute supplies and hygiene kits to youngsters in the war-torn country.