The British Red Cross has cracked the £1m-mark for its flagship fundraising week for the first time, up by nearly a fifth on the previous year.

The international development charity raised £1,121,231 during British Red Cross Week this year, a leap of 17.3 per cent from £952,063 in 2012. The charity set itself a target of £1m for this year’s campaign week.

A British Red Cross spokeswoman said there was increased awareness of the campaign among the public in the lead-up to the week as a result of the charity’s brand campaign, including outdoor and television ads. The charity refreshed its marketing material – for both internal and external audiences – to align more closely with the awareness campaign.

“This delivered a significant increase in awareness of the Red Cross among the public, resulting in more cash donations on the street,” said the spokeswoman.

The charity also invested more this year in challenge events, including the Red Shoe Walk which received public backing by Alex Jones from The One Show.