NEWLYWEDS Wendy Baggus and Steve Anderson celebrated their big day by raising £1,216 for the victims of the Nepal Earthquake.

The Lydney couple tied the knot at Clearwell Castle last Thursday and held a charity night at the Woolaston Inn where they had a band, raffle and auction.

Owner Bagbir Pun has already raised £1010.25 for the relief fund in a bid to help those, including his friends and family, who are still in the country.

Steve said: "After visiting the inn several times and enjoying the company and atmosphere, it was immediately decided that this would be the place to continue celebrating. With recent events in Nepal, there was no better place to have an enjoyable night and try and raise as much as we could for the cause.

"We posted our plans on Facebook to friends and family and the response for donating raffle prizes were brilliant – lots of local businesses also supported us.

"Bagbir has raised a lot of money already. Everyone has been so generous and we just wanted to do our little bit too, and by having wedding guests there who have travelled from Newcastle, Scotland, London we brought in a lot more money."

The couple met on holiday in Magaluf three years ago, and in the same year Steve moved from Newcastle to the Forest to be with his love.

He added: "The earthquake in Nepal touched both of our hearts and we wanted to do our bit to help raise money towards the cause. With Bagbir and his family hearing the news that many of his friends and relatives including his parents are still in the country, we felt we wanted to play a part in showing that we care and wanted to help in anyway we could."

Bagbir added: "Our collection is still ongoing and I wish to extend my special thanks to Wendy and Steve for their active participation on collecting so many raffle prizes and to those who have donated.

"We were overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness shown and I assure everyone that every penny we raise will go straight to the victims in Nepal."

•WILDWOOD Yoga students across the area raised £220 towards the Nepalese earthquake appeal.  

Teacher Kishe Redwood donated all the monies from her classes held at the Evergreen Hall in Broadwell on Mayday Monday and over the week as word spread, many other yogis from her classes in Lydney, St Arvans, Clearwell and Yorkley donated too.

"We are supporting the 'Gorkha Learning For Life' charity which is dedicated to helping the people of Pokharatok in Gorkha, Nepal, through health services and education," said Kishe.  

"The earthquake devastated family homes and caused fatalities in the village and the monies raised will help to rebuild and repair structural damage and peoples lives".