Holiday-home owners in the resort village of Hanmer Springs have jumped at the chance to do their bit for the Christchurch earthquake victims.



Hundreds of landlords from the ritzy alpine town have offered their vacant houses to families needing respite from the stress and constant aftershocks following Saturday’s quake.



The owners were prompted into action by local business owner Nick Cowie, who came up with the bright idea after hearing about the plight of some of his friends in the city.



“The nerves of people down there are just shot,” Mr Cowie said.



"We have three families coming to stay with us this weekend – eight kids and six adults – and I thought if we could do it, so could other people."



Not one to muck around, Mr Cowie last night sent out 863 emails to those with holiday homes in Hanmer.



The response he received was so great it crashed his computer.



"It’s just been fantastic. We’ve been inundated. My computer did get a virus from it, but we’re still up and running."



Hanmer, which is 90 minutes from Christchurch, has a population of only 900 permanent residents, but at peak holiday season can accommodate 7000 people.



"We have a lot of capacity. And there’s no quaking at all up here," Mr Cowie said.



The houses will be either offered for free or at very low cost.

To contact Mr Cowie, call 03 315 5228 or 021 244 2009.