The Daily Mirror's Christmas charity appeal has raised £74,000 for Age UK by encouraging the public to donate a coat to one of the charity's 450 shops.

The Donate a Coat appeal supporting Age UK's Spread the Warmth campaign saw the public donate almost 7,000 coats.

The campaign also saw support from celebrities including Gary Barlow, Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig, Barbara Windsor and John Prescott, who donated their own coats for a celebrity coat auction, run on eBay. The auction raised £5,000 for the appeal. Opera singer Katherine Jenkins Bebe mac proved to be the best-seller, raising £633, compared to £255 for Gary Barlow's Fay coat.

Age UK's campaign was chosen by the Daily Mirror as its Christmas charity appeal, with the national newspaper providing editorial support to highlight the issues surrounding the Spread the Warmth campaign. Every winter another 200 older people die from the effects of the cold weather. The appeal aims to provide grants to help with heating costs, increase awareness of the problem, help local partners deliver groceries to older people trapped by bad weather and provide human contact for those who don't have anyone. In addition to editorial support, the Daily Mirror publicised a text donation for the appeal, which raised £1,000. 

A spokeswoman for Age UK said the charity was "really happy" with the results of the campaign which closed today. "We have managed to get some really high-profile people to back the campaign which has helped not just to increase the funds, but also to increase awareness for the campaign, which is really important," she said.