A TEACHER who was in Sri Lanka when the tsunami hit has set about raising money to build a house for victims of the giant wave.

Janet Jinadasa was in the country's capital, Colombo, on Boxing Day when the devastating tidal wave struck the country.

Inspired by her experience of seeing the locals trying to put their lives back together, Mrs Jinadasa decided to do something to help.

When she got back to England, the art teacher at Bede College, in Billingham, encouraged students and colleagues to raise money for the victims.

In total, £1,500 has been raised by the school, with the cash going towards building a house for a family affected by the disaster.

Mrs Jinadasa, who returned to Sri Lanka at Easter to see the house, said: "On the day the tsunami struck, the only thing I was aware of was a slight shaking from the earthquake. In the following days, I watched people buying goods in supermarkets to send to the victims. There was a real outpouring of generosity."

Ms Jinadasa, whose husband is Sri Lankan, spent four years teaching there.

She said: "The real tragedy is that after 20 years of civil war, the country had reached a peace agreement and people were starting to put their lives together. But this disaster has knocked all that progress back again."