Coldplay's Chris Martin and Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis have appealed for people to donate to Oxfam to help those hit by the Haiti earthquake.

Up to 500,000 people are feared dead in the natural disaster, while those who survived the 7.0 magnitude quake in the already impoverished country are relying heavily on aid.

Martin, who travelled to Haiti in 2002 with Glastonbury's Emily Eavis, said: "I visited Haiti with Oxfam a few years ago. It's a country of extreme poverty and brutal living conditions. Most people in Port-au-Prince live in tin shacks.

“The earthquake that has struck Haiti will have turned the city into an unimaginable hell. The people of Haiti will be desperate for help and assistance."

Emily Eavis echoed his sentiments, saying: "I visited Haiti with Oxfam in 2002 and it's the poorest place I've ever been by a long way.

"It seems doubly unfair that it should be hit by such a devastating earthquake, especially after the hurricanes of the last two years. They do not have the resources needed to cope with a disaster of this scale, that is what makes this so much worse."

Go to Oxfam's website now to donate to the appeal.

(by Scott Colothan)