In just 14 weeks, the DRA raised £980,000 - the figure this Monday - which, quite frankly, astonished the organisers as much as ordinary Dales folk. When they first hit on the £1 million figure back in June, they were accused of setting an "impossibly high" target.

Admittedly, the figure was swelled by generous grants from many non-Yorkshire based charities. The family trusts set up by the supermarket Sainsbury family were very generous and, this week (see News page) the ancient Clothworkers' Foundation handed over a stunning £100,000.

Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, played a major part, too, by giving matching £1 for £1 funding for some of the donations and also picking up the bill for some of the appeal's admin. costs (which, anyway, were very low because most of the work was done for free by volunteers).

That said, the locals in the Craven Trust area - which spreads from Sedbergh in Cumbria to south of Keighley and west into the Ribble Valley - were magnificent.

Schools, churches, voluntary bodies and individuals raised astonishing sums. Churches of all denominations handed over their annual harvest festival collections, traditionally one of the biggest of the year, and one individual personally gave £100,000 - anonymously.

Now, the appeal assessors are distributing the money as fast as they can, dealing with some 30 applications a week. So far, some £250,000 has been awarded and there are many more grants about to be made. The appeal committee almost daily receives letters of thanks from small businesses which might have been forced into bankruptcy but for the fund's help.

However, the depth of the crisis has surprised even committee members. "We hope people will still continue to give because we can spend every penny we can raise," says acting chairman Dr Brian Fisher.

One man in particular deserves the thanks of everyone in the Dales: my namesake (but unrelated) John Sheard, the former agent of the Bolton Abbey Estate, who launched the appeal as chairman but who was taken ill a few weeks ago. He is, I am glad to report, making a good recovery.

Thanks should also go to the dozens or ordinary folk, many of them pensioners, who sent in what they could afford - even to the extent of pushing notes into the hands and pockets of trustees.

Self-help has always been a feature of Dales life. This was a magnificent demonstration of that self-reliance. For generations, since the days of the music-hall comedians and perhaps before, tight-fisted Tykes have been a figure of fun for those not lucky enough to be born in the county of broad acres.

That cruel myth has now been forever smashed.