A MASSIVE £60,000 has been raised by a group of divers for Sri Lankan villagers who saved their lives when the Asian tsunami struck on Boxing Day.

And this week, the villagers sent their heartfelt thanks to townsfolk who donated to the Hikkaduwa Village Fund, organised by the divers from Redditch and Bromsgrove.

Millennium Diving Centre members set up the charity after their lucky escape from the wave which killed nearly 300,000 around the Indian Ocean.

They were diving at Hikkaduwa but escaped thanks to the early warning of their Sri Lankan instructor.

They wanted to show their gratitude to the villagers who, despite their own desperate plight, fed and sheltered them for days after the disaster when they were cut off from the rescue operation.

Divers Lynn and Ian Aston and Alex Medcalf recently returned to help distribute funds to those in most need.

With the cash, villagers have been able to buy materials to rebuild their shattered homes.

But three months on, bodies are still being recovered.

Fund spokesman Michelle Mills said: "Shockingly, no international funding has reached Hikkaduwa yet, so if it wasn't for small charities like the Hikkaduwa Village Fund, these people would have not received a penny.

"Alex is still out in Hikkaduwa and he is doing all he can to help, whether it be building, painting or visiting the children in the temples.

''But then some days he has a bad job to do, like digging for more bodies.''

She added: "It's easy for those of us who were involved to remember the pain, the destruction and the heartbreak. We simply ask others not to forget, yet."

A committee of various village elders and the village mayor has been set up in Hikkaduwa to handle the donations.

The mayor has sent a message for those who gave: "Our committee and the people of Hikkaduwa send you our heartfelt gratitude and thanks for the money raised by yourselves and the people of England. We cannot thank you enough for your efforts."

The fund will soon auction a signed Aston Villa shirt but is keen for more donations and is determined to raise more cash.

For more details or to donate, go to www.hikkaduwavillagefund.org