It took the incredible readers of The Yorkshire Post little more than 24 hours to raise £15,000 to replace the life-savings that 91-year-old great grandfather John Thompson had stolen from him by callous fraudsters - but the impact of what you have collectively done will live on far longer.

Mr Thompson, a former police officer, shared his story with this newspaper earlier this week not in the hope of receiving anything back but instead to act as a warning to others not to fall for a similar scam after criminals conned him by pretending to be from the security department of his bank.

However, when readers heard of his plight hundreds upon hundreds of donations poured in to replace the money he has lost.

The priceless impact those donations, big and small, have made became clear when The Yorkshire Post’s editor James Mitchinson and crime correspondent Lucy Leeson visited John and his wife Pat in Doncaster yesterday morning to share the good news of the appeal’s success - information that brought them both to tears of happiness.

John Thompson, the great-grandfather who the Yorkshire Post has been fundraising for after he was conned out of his life-savings by fraudsters. The Just Giving page has raised over £15,000 so far. John is pictured with is wife Pat, Yorkshire Post Editor James Mitchinson, and Crime Correspondent Lucy Leeson. Picture: Chris Etchells

Mr Thompson had lost a stone-and-a-half through stress since being targeted but thanks to your kind donations, the worry has been lifted.

The incredible response speaks volumes about how the people of Yorkshire respond to those in need.

Some true good has come out of an awful situation and that restores one’s faith in human nature and the belief that the number of good people in the world far outnumber the bad.

Thank you to everyone, from Yorkshire and beyond, who got involved.

You have truly made a life-changing difference.

Why extraordinary response to John Thompson appeal has made a life-changing difference: The Yorkshire Post says