A Bradford mother who lost 30 members of her family in the South Asian earthquake has spoken of her horror after she flew out to the disaster-stricken area to help the victims.

Shaheen Akhtar, 25, took thousands of pounds worth of medical supplies with her to help treat some of those injured.

"When I arrived in Rawalpindi I couldn't believe it, it looked so much worse than it had on the news reports," said Miss Akhtar.

"People's roofs are touching the floor, entire villages are devastated. It's very distressing to see it.

"The freezing weather here is going to mean a lot more casualties because there are so many people without shelter," she said.

Miss Akhtar, of Thornbury, has taken medical supplies to her uncle's hospital, the Kids Blood Disease Organisation (KBDO), based in Mansehra,

The hospital usually treats children with cancer but since the disaster it has been inundated with patients needing medical assistance.

"My uncle and his team have been overwhelmed by the number of casualties coming to them for help," she said.

Days after the disaster struck, Miss Akhtar's uncle told her there were hundreds of casualties queuing up outside the hospital.

"There were people dying outside because they couldn't treat them all," said Miss Akhtar.

In response, the healthcare worker at Parkside Medical Centre raised more than £4,000 in less than a week to buy supplies.

"I felt I really needed to do something, particularly because so many of my family members have been affected," said the mother-of-one.

Miss Akhtar said she was very upset by the sight of the children in the hospital.

"They are so tiny and a lot of them have had to have their limbs amputated," she said. "I took chocolates and treats with me so I have been handing them out to try and cheer them up."

Miss Akhtar's sister Saima, 26, has also flown out to Pakistan.

Miss Akthar said the last time they visited the region it was under happier circumstances because they were on holiday visiting family.

"So much of that family has been wiped out now by the earthquake and our village has been almost completely."

Miss Akthar said she and her sister were trying to track down some of their surviving relatives while they were there.