A Hartlepool resident who set up an online fundraiser for a local mosque following disorder in the town said it had raised more than £12,000.

Andrew Cooper said it was “heartbreaking” to hear protesters were heading towards the Nasir Mosque on July 31, adding it was “lucky” police proactively blocked off roads surrounding it.

Discussing the fundraiser, Mr Cooper told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “At the moment, we are at £12,251 – we actually smashed that £200 target within about 15 minutes.

“I increased that to £1,000, which we’d hit in an hour, and after just 24 hours we’d managed to break the £10,000 mark, which is incredible.”

Mr Cooper said the money would be split “across multiple charities” and used to “repair shop fronts for different businesses” that were damaged in the disorder.

Tahir Selby, imam at the Nasir Mosque, said it was “great” the police prevented any trouble for them.

Discussing the fundraiser, Mr Selby told the programme: “It’s been tremendous to see the love and support of the people. It’s something which we have been trying to do over the years – to try to help the community and remove these misunderstandings that anyone may have.”

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Meanwhile, Cleveland Police said two men from Hartlepool have been charged with violent disorder following riots in the town on July 31.

Ben Judge, 28, of Moffitt Road, and Aaron Bradshaw, also 28, of Murray Street were detained on Wednesday and remanded into custody to appear at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Friday (August 9).