A NELSON school has raised more than £1,800 for children affected by the Pakistan earthquake.

Whitefield Infant School and Nursery Unit organised a series of fundraising events including a competition to guess the name of the teddy bear, the number of peas in a jar and a toy sale. Their efforts culminated in a fashion show in partnership with Edge End High School, organised by Noreen Farooq from Whitefield Infant School and Jenefa Begum from Edge End High School.

Youngsters raised a total of £1,835.39 which was given to Nelson-based charity Muslim Global Relief. Finance manager Muhammad Bashir said: "The education system in Kashmir has almost come to a stop, with nearly 1,000 schools in the area destroyed or damaged to the extent of being unusable.

"There are an estimated 40,000 students in this region in need of school facilities and teachers.

"The funds helped MGR to provide much needed equipment in order for the children to receive some form of formal education, and for the teachers to start earning so that they too can rebuild their lives."

The leader of Muslim Conference Kashmir Sardar Atiq Khan opened MGR tent schools in Bagh on December 25 and 140 children are now enrolled.

Muslim Global Relief is also building 25 houses for the people at its camp in Pateeka and looking at long-term assistance for the region.