The Retail Trust has taken £50,000 from its reserves so it can immediately help staff, shopkeepers and families affected by the UK-wide riots this week, while its fundraising campaign gets under way.

The charity will be allocating grants of £250 to help relieve retail workers of immediate difficulties they are experiencing as a result of the riots.

The emergency fund has been set up in response to a public call for the Retail Trust to help those in turmoil. Alongside this, the campaign, #highstreetheroes, has been launched on Twitter to attract support from the members of the public.

Nigel J L Rothband, Retail Trust CEO said: “The £50,000 start point from our existing funds is to ensure we can help those in need now, but we also encourage other retailers and consumers to donate and help this fund grow so we can help all those affected.”

The Retail Trust’s most recent annual accounts show that it has £2.1m in undesignated reserves.

Its reserves policy allows it to have enough undesignated reserves to enable the charity to continue its charitable activity for a period of one year of funding income ceased. Its reserves of £2.1m allow it to continue for 18 months.

“Breathtaking wickedness”
Elsewhere, yesterday’s first day of court hearings for rioters caught by police saw a man plead guilty to stealing a Macmillan Cancer Charity collection box containing £50 from a Maplins store in Manchester.

Deputy district judge Alan Berg branded the actions of Daniel Bell, 30, of Stockport an "act of breathtaking wickedness".