Thousands raised for Chichester district kebab van workers whose families has been affected by Turkish earthquake

Nihat and Dilan Polat’s, who work at the Best Kebab Van in Petworth, family have been left homeless following the recent earthquakes in Turkey.

Dilan's Uncle and Aunt sadly died in their destroyed apartment block in the city. 30 other more distant relations have died in the tragedy.

20 to 25 immediate family members have been made homeless.

Nihat said: “It’s very bad at the moment. Most people they have lost their house. In the first couple of days after the earthquake we didn’t hear from anyone which was scary and we lost a couple of people in our family which was scary as well. Now, it’s especially hard for them to live, especially for children at night time with all the cold. We have tried to help them and the community have tried to help them as well.

"In our area, the people lost their houses in the first earthquake and in the second one as well. Some buildings are still standing up but the earth did not stop and that’s why the government have not allowed anyone to go into the building so most people have been sleeping outside or in a container. There’s been 600,000 thousand people affected and that’s just in my city. Most people ae just waiting for something but I think it’s going to be a long time to sort out the problem.

"In Petworth there’s a lot of fundraising going on and thank you for everyone for their support. Everyone has come together and I just want to say thank you.”

Following the tragedy in Turkey, a fundraiser was set up by the Petworth community to support Nihat and Dilan while they are in Turkey helping out the communities that have been affected.

As of writing, £3,235 has been raised in donations by the local community.

If you would like to donate or lend your support to Nihat and Dilan to help their family during the crisis visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/nihatearthquake?utm_term=jpG5kq7BA&fbclid=IwAR0cyG1JS3k_jCXMKamgp2zYwYsCje851JljZY0KBXSIwktCVORLYs-ow78