A SRI Lankan family living in St John's, Worcester, have been using their business to assist the clear-up operation in their home country following the Asian tsunami disaster.

Kanduge Kumara, who runs Nagamochi Trading Company, a construction company based in Sri Lanka, has just returned from a trip to the region where he allowed his machinery, including a JCB and mini digger, to clear roads of debris, allowing aid vehicles to access the affected areas.

Mr Kumara - who lives in Blenheim Road, with his wife Sujeewa and two children - said thankfully no one in his extended family in Kurunegala, near the country's capital Colombo, had been hurt and the area was not affected.

When he travelled to Sri Lanka on Wednesday, December 29, he and his relatives transported about three tonnes of supplies, including water and rice, to the southern city of Galle, which was one of the worst-affected areas in the country.

"We are very sad about what happened. I felt that I had to do something because it is my country," he said. "If I can do anything to help I will."

"One of my friends lives very near the beach near Galle. He has a restaurant there which was completely lost. He lost two sons as well," he said.

He added that discussions are being held with his brother, who owns a garment factory in Kurunegala, about help to build some homes in the Galle area.