Medics have been able to treat victims of the South Asian earthquake free-of-charge for a month - thanks to funds raised by a Girlington church channelled by a city GP.

Dr Alastair Bavington, who works at Kensington Health Centre in Girlington, was able to send £4,000 to help a hospital in the heart of the disaster zone from money raised mainly by parishioners at St Philip's Church.

The 39-year-old GP, who is a former warden of the church, was born in Pakistan and through his contact with a former colleague, was able to ensure the money went straight to the people who needed it.

He said: "I went to school in Murree, about 100 miles away from the earthquake's epicentre in Muzaffarabad. And I spent some time during my medical training working with Dr Haroon Lal Din who opened a clinic in a small village on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad about 15 years ago."

Dr Lal Din has since built a larger hospital, Kunhar Christian Hospital, which was one of the few buildings to survive the devastating quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale.

Through the internet and mutual friends Dr Bavington contacted his former colleague to see how he and fellow parishioners from St Philip's could help people who had survived the earthquake.

"Healthcare is free in very few countries," said Dr Bavington. "And even a Christian hospital like Dr Lal Din's generally has to charge people for basic running costs.

"But because they had a lot of money given from all over the world after the earthquake, they were able to give entirely free treatment to everyone for at least the first month."

The hospital was also able to give tents to people who had travelled from the remote regions and who had no shelter.

And the money also helped to set up some temporary shelters around the hospital because some of its buildings damaged by the earthquake were unsafe.

"People are really grateful," said Dr Bavington. "People who have survived in tact are grateful to be able to offer help to those who did not get off so well. People are working flat out and now they are exhausted.

"We're conscious that the support we have given in the aftermath is not necessarily the biggest thing because they will need help for many months to come, possibly in the form of people going out there to work.

"People were overwhelmed by the support we have sent to them. I know from my conversations with Asians in Bradford, that people are concerned about whether money actually gets to where it's needed.

"But we know these people get the money because there's a safe conduit for it. It is getting to the people who need it."

Parishioners at St Philip's raised £3,800 to help victims of the earthquake through donations and special collections.

Reverend Tony Tooby, of St Philip's Church in Washington Street, said: "The response was fantastic. It was very clear that the money would go to the hospital and that it would be used wisely.

"We give ten per cent of everything we take in our church to charity and we will be giving more money to the hospital. We usually support a charity in Bradford and a charity abroad. It's a very generous church."