Two kind-hearted Exmouth youngsters have been raising money for the Pakistan monsoon fund

A COUPLE of thoughtful Exmouth youngsters have been spending part of their school holiday by raising money for the Pakistan monsoon fund.

Instead of embarking on common activities such as playing football in a park, five-year-old Alex, and Ben, eight, from Egremont Road, decided to sell apples and blackberries on their street last week on behalf of the flood victims.

More than 1500 people were killed and many more stranded following an annual monsoon which occurred recently in Pakistan.

It was the deadliest floods the country has seen for decades, washing away millions of hectares of crops, submerging villages and destroying roads and bridges.

Hayley, Alex and Ben’s mum, said: “They decided to sell things after watching a feature on the news about the devastating floods.

“They did really well and are so genorous.”

Jeannie Lynch, from Exmouth, was on her way to work when she spotted the kind-hearted children.

She said: “I was pleasantly shaken out of my weariness when coming across two little boys selling windfall apples outside a house in the Colony.

“They had created a fundraising target of �10. I gave them what change I had, took my apple and headed on my way with a smile on my face, weariness forgotten.

“How great that young children are supported to understand that the world doesn’t begin and end on their own doorstep, and that there is a world out there where lots of youngsters suffer.

“In an age where emphasis is often placed on what we have, this little gesture cheered me greatly. Well done boys!

The boys raised nearly �20 which mum, Hayley, has paid into the appeal fund via a local bank. Alex and Ben collected the apples from a friend’s tree.

Elizabeth Brice, who lives near the youngsters on Egremont Road, also noticed the boys selling apples.

“They must have been sat there for most of the day,” she said.

“You don’t usually see this kind of thing happening down here. It’s for a great cause.

“It is learning them at an earlier age to give something back to society. They are so mannerly and polite are the boys.”