An Oxfam worker who comes from Oakworth experienced the horrific legacy of the Indian earthquake at first hand when she flew to Ahmedabad last Wednesday.

Nicola Sutherland, 29, is a press officer for the charity and has been working in Ahmedabad and Bhuj, which have been badly affected by the earthquake that hit on Friday, January 26.

In 1995 Nicola volunteered to be an Oxfam helper in Bradford and moved on to get a full time job in Oxford, but she had never been to a disaster area before.

She said: "I was very nervous flying out. I didn't know what to expect or if I would be able to cope." Nothing could prepare Nicola for what she did find.

Here, in a phone call from Bhuj, she recounts the sights she has seen and how best the people of India can be helped.

She said: "It really hit me when we went to Bhuj. It looked like a bad Hollywood set. It was so unreal.

"Some of the buildings were intact but the front had fallen off. They looked like open doll's houses. As you looked in you could see the normal life people were living just before the earthquake.

"It was so odd. There were pictures on the walls. Sofas and other furniture were still in the rooms.

"But nearby there was nothing. Just a pile of rubble with household items mixed in with the bricks and concrete.

"I saw a young boy standing by a pile of rubble. He spoke a little English.

"Some of his family had survived and were living in a tent.

"I asked him why he had come back. He said his mum was still there.

"He pointed to a woman's body still in the rubble. You could see an arm and part of her upper body. It was too dangerous to retrieve the body. The little boy was waiting for his mother."

Nicola said that many people had left the towns but aid workers, rescuers and journalists were still there.

"When I went back to Amerjabad to my hotel I slept with my clothes on - my coat and some water nearby," she said.

"It sounds daft but I wanted to be prepared if another quake happened. We felt a few aftershocks.

"It is going to be a very long job rebuilding the area.

"What is needed most is to bring a sense of stability back.

"It would help if those who survived could have a regular warm meal, be warm themselves and have clean water."

Nicola said the temperatures meant conditions were like those of the desert.

It could be 30 degrees in the day and plummet to minus one at night She continued: "The irony is that the news crews are all leaving to go to the Israeli elections. I'm due home this week as there is no media left for me to liase with.

"For some it is ending, but for us it is just the beginning of a very long process to help these people."