Reid on New Zealand tragedy

Winston Reid has spoken of his sadness after an earthquake left 65 people dead in New Zealand.

The 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck just before midnight UK time, and Reid said his immediate thoughts were for those who have lost friends and family in the tragedy. The centre-back was speaking after scoring his first goal for the Hammers in a 5-1 defeat of Burnley in the FA Cup, but was only concerned with thoughts back home.

"It was a fantastic night for me and for the team, but obviously a thing like this happening puts it all into perspective. I heard about the earthquake and then saw the pictures of it all on the news. It is devastating and my heart goes out to everyone back home.

"I would just like to say that I am thinking of everyone back home, especially those who have lost loved ones and have had their lives changed because of this.

"It is not a large country, but the spirit among the people there will be what gets them through. They will all help each other out and will help each other to recover from what has happened. My thoughts are with everyone."

The 22-year-old was born in Auckland but moved to Denmark with his mum aged ten. He regularly still goes home to New Zealand, not least when representing his country on international duty.

"My immediate reaction was to call home to my family and friends - the problem was that because of the quake, the phone lines were all down as you would expect, so it took a bit of time to get through, which was worrying.

"I had to get messages through and then get them sent on to others and do it like that, but my family and friends are OK. Obviously everything is turned upside down, but they are all feeling so fortunate, and so am I, that they are all alive that is the main thing because people have lost their lives and that is the most tragic thing.

"While there are many buildings and houses that have been destroyed, many of the buildings are built strongly and so would have survived, so hopefully many people are also OK.

"It is a very sad time because they have lost loved ones. I have also seen pictures on the news of people on buses with their belongings of what has survived.

"I have not experienced an earthquake myself back home, but I know a few months ago there was a small tremor, so it looks like a bigger one had been building up - there is nothing you can do.

"Even if you live in a country where earthquakes happen, I don't think you are ever fully prepared for it. It is still a shock when it happens as you simply can't stop it or stop what it does."