Charlie riding high as his appeal raises £50,000 in a day

Charlie Simpson, from Fulham, west London, was so upset by the devastation wrought by the earthquake that he told his mother he wanted to do anything he could to help.

The boy set out to raise 500 for Unicef's Haiti appeal by riding his bike five miles around his local park – but

the schoolboy's efforts

inspired hundreds of people online who donated a total of more than 50,000 in just one day.

All the donations from his JustGiving website will go to Unicef, which is leading emergency relief clusters on water, sanitation, education and nutrition.

Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/CharlieSimpson-HAITI.

Meanwhile, British stars pitched in during a star-studded transatlantic

telethon to raise money for Haiti.

Coldplay's Chris Martin joined fellow rock and pop royalty Bono, Jay-Z and Beyonce in London for the broadcast, with dozens of other celebrities including Madonna and Justin Timberlake pleading for donations in the US.

Ex-Police frontman Sting sang in New York and comedian Russell Brand also helped man the phone lines in Los Angeles alongside Hollywood A-listers like Jennifer Aniston, Mel Gibson and Jack Nicholson.