WHEN Jackie Kelly left Le Broc, a small village in the south of France, to go back to the UK, she left a little of her heart over there – and now she is trying to help those affected by the Paris attacks from her home in Chippinghurst.

Mrs Kelly, 55, a housekeeper, is fundraising online for the families of those who died on Friday, November 13. Some 130 people lost their lives in a series of attacks across Paris, including at the Bataclan theatre.

Mrs Kelly decided to set up a fundraiser after seeing many people expressing their support on social media.

She said: “Solidarity is fantastic but more than a hundred families have to go through the trauma of having lost a loved one and in most cases it’s their children. Financially, a lot of them are not going to be able to cope with the cost of a funeral.

“It’s at a time like this that a bit of financial support could help people. Perhaps they were saving a bit of money towards Christmas. It’s an awful thing to have to talk about the cost of a funeral.”

Mrs Kelly plans to approach the French embassy in London or emergency charities in Paris to ensure the funds go to those who need it.

She moved to Le Broc in March 2013 with her husband James, 46, an estate manager, to oversee the renovation of a house.

They may have been 700 miles away from home, but Mrs Kelly, who did not speak French at the time and had to learn after they arrived, said they felt loved immediately.

She added: “We went off not knowing a soul and the local villagers took us in, looked after us and embraced us.

“We were just embracing the whole French way of life.”

The couple, who lived in Hampshire previously, came back from France and settled in Chippinghurst, just south-east of Oxford just under a year ago.

Mr Kelly, her husband of 11 years, said: “At first I was quite surprised. Jackie has never done anything like this before. I think she’s doing an extraordinary thing. Our friends in France said it was lovely.”

Fundraising efforts like this been appreciated in the French capital.

One woman Sophie, who did not want to give her surname, lived in Oxford for ten years and has been in Paris since 2001. She said the city became “a ghost town” after the attacks.

The 45-year-old said: “Everyone I have spoken to is really happy with how the people in England have been supporting Paris and France.”

Asked what people in Oxford could do to help from a distance, she said: “Enjoying what the Parisians enjoy, eating in restaurants, drinking French wine, enjoy feeling free to walk where they want, going to concerts and theatres.”

* To contribute to Mrs Kelly’s fundraiser, please visit crowdfunding.justgiving.com/French-shooting-victims