Woolwich attack: Help for Heroes website crashes in wake of brutal soldier murder

The website for the military charity Help for Heroes crashed this morning under the demand from people offering donations in the wake of the Woolwich soldier murder.

The serving soldier, who has yet to be named, was said to be wearing a Help for Heroes t-shirt when he was brutally murdered by two suspected terrorists in broad daylight yesterday.

The charity, which provides help for wounded servicemen and women, was inundated with traffic on Thursday morning after it emerged the victim was wearing one of its t-shirts.

News of the serving soldier's clothing spread quickly on social media on Wednesday afternoon straight after the horrific killing, and parts of the Help for Heroes website were still out of action this morning.

A spokesperson for the charity said on Thursday: 'Last night with the website, there was clearly a lot of interest.'

'Help for Heroes' also became one of the day's most searched-for terms on Yahoo! Search.

The increased traffic to the website came as it emerged that soldiers have been ordered not to show any clothes which identify them as members of the military.

Help for Heroes was founded in 2007, with the aim of providing better care for members of the Armed Forces wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It has several high-profile patrons, including Prince Harry, Ross Kemp and Jeremy Clarkson, and is supported by national newspapers The Sun and The Sunday Times.

A charity single released in aid of Help for Heroes in November 2010 also went straight to number one, selling over 300,000 copies in its first week.

Help for Heroes have a number of initiatives for wounded servicemen, including 'Battle Back', which provides sport and adventure training, and 'Combat Stress', which offers support for those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

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The charity would not confirm today how much more traffic they had received after the Woolwich attack.

Many Help for Heroes supporters said on Twitter last night they would be wearing the charity's clothing to work on Thursday as a show of solidarity for the murdered soldier.

Relations between British Muslims in the armed forces and their colleagues will not be strained following the murder of a British soldier in Woolwich, a retired army captain has said.

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Captain Afzal Amin, former chairman of the Armed Forces Muslim Association, said he believed members of the British military from all racial backgrounds would stand united to condemn the "horrific and brutal" attack yesterday by two suspected terrorists.

Cpt Amin undertook three tours of Afghanistan before retiring last year, as one of more than 600 Muslims serving in the British armed forces.