THE final lorry load of supplies collected by the Worcester Circuit of Methodist Churches is due to leave for a tsunami-hit area of Sri Lanka today.

The first two lorries, filled with items from clothes to corrugate steal sheets, left Worcester for the Batticaloa District in the south east of the country last Thursday and Friday.

The Rev David Meachem, from Ombersley Road and Bromyard Road Methodist Churches, launched the appeal after hearing the tragic story of a member of his congregation, Antoinette Sanmuganathan.

The Evening News reported in January that Antoinette has five sets of aunts, uncles and cousins in the Batticaloa District.

They lost all of their possessions in the disaster.

One of her uncles miraculous escaped death by squeezing through an outside toilet's ventilation shaft and grasping on to a tree for two days - he was the only survivor of 3,000 people from his village

"It has been absolutely staggering," said John Bennett, who co-ordinated the collection.

"We could not have done any of this without the generous support of the people from Worcester, Worces-tershire and Ross-on-Wye.

"I also want to thank all the people who helped load the lorries. It took between one and a half and two hours each time."

The supplies are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on Sunday, March 6.