British man missing in Philippines as typhoon aid soars to £30m

Colin Bembridge, 61, from Grimsby, was staying with his Filipino partner Maybelle, 35, and their three-year-old daughter Victoria near Tacloban when the devastating storm struck and he went missing, his family has said.

The pharmacist was visiting his girlfriend’s relatives and had hired a beach house in Baybay, one of the ravaged coastal villages, according to Channel 4 News.

Typhoon Haiyan has left thousands dead and many more homeless, with survivors struggling without food, water and shelter.

More than £30m has been raised for the Typhoon Haiyan appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) in just three days.

The alliance of 14 UK aid charities said its total had shot up from £23m at noon Thursday as the public responded to the disaster.

DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed said: “We are so grateful to the people of the UK for their generosity to date. But the needs are so great, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced.”

This morning an RAF cargo plane carrying medical supplies and heavy duty vehicles which took off from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire as part of Britain’s emergency response will arrive in the country. The huge C-17 transport plane is carrying two JCB diggers, two Land Rovers and a forklift truck.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said it was vital to get the logistics operation up and running to ensure aid reaches those in need.

“You cannot do that without the right equipment,” she said. “We’ve got the right equipment and we’re sending it over.”

Flight Sergeant Tony Rimmer, load master at Brize Norton, said: “We’ve had no shortage of volunteers to carry out the task that we’ve got to do.”

Aid effort defended: Page 15.