According to the latest figures revealed by Lorca town council, some 3,000 people lost their homes as a result of the earthquakes in May, 1,164 homes have already been demolished, covering an area equivalent to 17 football pitches, and 140 more buildings are have been left in ruins.

The Councillor in charge of the Earthquake Reconstruction Committee, Saturnina Martínez, pointed out today that the people affected by the earthquake had so far only received money from the Consortium of Insurance Compensation fund and Mesa Solidaria, a charity collecting donations given to the town.

She said that 1.4 million euros from the Mesa Solidaria fund had been distributed amongst 751 Lorca families who have lost their homes.

The town council has retained a reserve fund of 630,000 euros for families who have lost their homes and haven't yet come to the council for help, and has released a further half a million euros to provide a new impulse to businesses in the town, where over 20% of shops have still not managed to reopen after the earthquake.

Martínez emphasised the "enormous workload" council workers had had to take on, with more than 14,000 requests for help to be processed.

She also added that five months after the quakes, around 90 people are still living in the emergency camp set up in the La Torrecilla area of the town, where some 1,500 people were housed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.