THE son of a woman who was the target of a social media scam says he is "overwhelmed" at the way the community has rallied to support her.

Anthony Park praised the reaction from people in Dalton and Barrow after his mum Katherine Jones, 69, was scammed out of more than £300.

Fraudsters targeted her through a Facebook messenger scam, in which she was asked to send iTunes vouchers, supposedly in return for a cash grant.

He said: "I was shocked at what had happened to her with the scam, but I am more shocked at the way people have supported her.

"The response has been absolutely amazing. I am absolutely overwhelmed at how people have come together."

Mrs Jones said the experience had left her never wanting to use the social media site again.

She said: "I used Facebook because I’m lonely. I’m a pensioner and my children are all working.

"I used it to keep in contact with friends and family but now I don’t want to go on it ever again.”

Among the wellwishers were Maureen and Paul Griffiths, the owners of Barrow store The Candle Box, who raffled off candles in an attempt to recoup some of Mrs Jones lost money.

Their efforts saw them raise £120 for the grandmother of nine.

Mr Griffiths said: "We wanted to help because we have elderly relatives so we just imagined if it had been one of them.

"We both had a talk about what we could do to help and decided on raffling some of our products off.

Mr Park said the gesture from the shop was a "lovely" thing to have done.

He said: "It was a really nice thing for them to do and a lovely gesture."

An online funding page set up by Barrow woman Cheryll Jordan has raised at least £200, meaning community efforts have recouped the money Mrs Jones lost in the scam.