The Helen Titchener Rescue Fund hit its £150,000 target as the soap plot culminated

A campaign set up in honour of a character from The Archers has raised more than £150,000 for a domestic abuse charity.

Paul Trueman started the Helen Titchener Rescue Fund on JustGiving in February after the character was accused of attempting to murder her manipulative husband Rob.

The Radio 4 soap’s storyline culminated this weekend when Helen was acquitted after a jury heard she had been subjected to years of abuse.

Domestic abuse charity Refuge will now receive the donations from the JustGiving campaign.

If you’d told me that all this would happen when I sat down one dark night in February and set up a Just Giving page for a fictional character, I would have said you’d drunk too much of the Grundy cide

Sandra Horley CBE, the charity’s chief executive, praised donors for their “jaw-dropping” generosity.

She said: “Never before in my 33 career at Refuge have I seen such amazing public support for our work.

“I am humbled by each and every one of the almost 7,500 individuals who have supported this fund.

“Every day Refuge supports 3,800 real-life Helens and Henrys – women and children who have escaped the most horrific abuse and who reach out to us for sanctuary and safety. Yet the life-saving and life-changing services we run are under real pressure due to reductions in funding – 80% of Refuge’s services have experienced cuts since 2011.

“This support could not come at a better time for Refuge – I cannot thank those who have given so generously enough.”

Mr Trueman added: “If you’d told me that all this would happen when I sat down one dark night in February and set up a Just Giving page for a fictional character, I would have said you’d drunk too much of the Grundy cider.

“I have also been absolutely bowled over by the thousands of comments left on the page and would urge everyone to take a look.

“They speak both to the scale of the lives affected as well as the healing power of charities like Refuge to help families put their lives back together.”