A JustGiving page set up in aid of fictional Archers character Helen Titchener, has raised just under £160,000 for the domestic violence charity Refuge, following the completion of the storyline yesterday.

The Radio 4 soap’s long running domestic abuse narrative culminated on Sunday when Tichener, played by Louiza Patikas, was acquitted of attempting to murder her husband Rob.

A statement by Refuge yesterday, described the £159,642 sum as “jaw-dropping”.

“What started as an idea to do good off the back of a harrowing storyline took off overnight, as Archers’ fans donated in order to support real-life Helens,” the statement said.

“Today, just seven months on, the Fund has tipped the £150,000 mark. This money is the equivalent of almost 2,900 nights in a refuge for a woman escaping domestic violence and her family.”

Sandra Horley, CBE, chief executive of Refuge said: “Never before in my 33-year career at Refuge have I seen such amazing public support for our work.  I am humbled by each and every one of the almost 7,500 individuals who have supported this fund.”  

“Every day, Refuge supports 3,800 real-life Helens and Henrys – women and children who have escaped the most horrific abuse and who reach out to us for sanctuary and safety.  Yet the life-saving and life-changing services we run are under real pressure due to reductions in funding – 80 per cent of Refuge’s services have experienced cuts since 2011. This support could not come at a better time for Refuge – I cannot thank those who have given so generously enough.”

Long-running fan of the show, Paul Trueman, who set up the JustGiving page, said he was “bowled over by the thousands of comments left on the page” by supporters of the cause.

“If you’d told me that all this would happen when I sat down one dark night in February and set up a JustGiving page for a fictional character, I would have said you’d drunk too much of the Grundy cider.

“It has been one the greatest privileges of my life fronting what has very much been a team effort, and I wouldn’t have missed the late nights and frantic tweeting for the world.”

The BBC radio show was a Twitter hit over the weekend, with #thearchers the top-trending hashtag during Sunday’s broadcast and #freehelen trending throughout last week.