A MALVERN man who survived the Asian tsunami disaster is setting up a long-term aid effort to help the Sri Lankan villagers who saved his life.

John Gudgeon, aged 43, of Wells Road, was one of a party of 20 divers from Britain who arrived in the Indian Ocean isle on December 22, for a two-week holiday.

They were staying in the village of Hikkaduwa, north of Galle, when the tsunami struck on Boxing Day morning.

"Most of us were in the diving centre when it struck," he said. "It wasn't like a giant wave, it was more like the sea just kept rising."

Mr Gudgeon, manager of a factory in Redditch, described how seawater flooded into the diving centre up to ceiling height.

All his party survived, although with some injuries, but many were not so lucky - at least 200 people were reported dead at the Hikkaduwa hospital.

Nonetheless, local people took in the diving party, caring for them until help could arrive.

"They fed us, they gave us water, they gave up their beds for the wounded, they saved our lives," he said. It was three days before the party could leave for the capital Colombo and flights back to Britain.

Now the diving party - based around the Millennium Dive Centre in Bromsgrove - is setting up a fund for the people of Hikkaduwa.

"First they need shelter, before the monsoon season starts, and then they need fishing boats," he said.

"We want this to be a long-term support effort. Too many times, people react when a natural disaster happens, but then forget about it after a few weeks."

The Hikkaduwa Village Fund can be contacted at the Millennium Dive Centre, 14 Chesworth Road, Harwood Park, Bromsgrove, B60 2HF.

"It really was a life-changing experience, very humbling," said Mr Gudgeon.