Hillingdon Council spent £12,000 to support the relief effort for victims of the devastating Nepal earthquake that struck last month.

Ten shelter boxes, at a cost of £5,900, were contributed as well as a donation of £6,100 to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

Cllr Ray Puddifoot, leader of Hillingdon Council, has urged residents to "follow the council's lead" by donating any amount they can to the relief fund following the earthquake on April 25.

He said: "The scale of the damage caused by the earthquake in Nepal has been difficult to imagine.

"Hillingdon Council has committed to help some of the people whose lives have been turned upside down by this disaster by donating £12,000 to help the victims of this tragedy."

The shelter boxes contain essential items that a family would need to start rebuilding their lives including a tent, water storage and purification equipment, thermal blankets and cooking utensils.

Hillingdon's Gurkha Nepalese community has welcomed the council's actions.

John McDonnell, chairman of the Hillingdon Nepalese Gurkha Association and Labour parliamentary candidate for Hayes & Harlington, asked for an appeal in Hillingdon for donations.

He said: "Members of the Hillingdon Nepalese Gurkha Association have been moved by the expressions of sympathy and offers of support we have received from members of the community in Hillingdon and would like to turn that support into concrete assistance."

The death toll of the earthquake so far is over 7,000 people, with 14,000 people injured. Its epicentre was in the Gorkha district of Nepal, which is 80km north-west of Kathmandu.

To help provide shelter boxes, click here or if you would prefer to give money to the DEC appeal for victims of the Nepal earthquake, visit their website.