PICKERING & District Rotary Club has held a fundraising dinner to raise money for the Nepal Earthquake appeal.

They were joined by one of Britain's most famous mountaineers as well as officers from the Gurkha Regiment at Catterick.

The club have helped the wider district to raise more than £40,000 to help the rebuilding effort in Nepal, which is likely to take decades.

The officer commanding the Gurkha Regiment at Catterick, together with officers, gave a talk on the history of the Gurkhas and their work in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Major Edward Withey, of the Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR), was in Nepal when the earthquake happened. He told of the recovery exercise that began immediately afterwards. There was also a presentation of the work in progress, and how Nepal is coping with this natural disaster.

This was followed by a talk by one of the top mountaineers in the country - Alan Hinkes, from Northallerton, has climbed Mount Everest five times.

Peter Lumley of the rotary club said: "The presentation of Alan Hinkes brought home just how far into the heavens these mountains reach. He also described what a wonderful and welcoming country Nepal is."

The dinner was held at the Steam and Moorland Garden Centre Restaurant. The meal was Nepalese, prepared and presented by York's Yak & Yeti Restaurant.

The Nepal earthquake of April 2015 killed more than 9,000 people and injured more than 23,000. It has been described as the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal since 1934. The earthquake triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing at least 19 people. It also triggered another avalanche in the Langtang valley, where 250 people were reported missing.

Hundreds of thousands of people were made homeless across many districts of the country. Centuries-old buildings were destroyed at UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley, including some at the Kathmandu Durbar Square and the Changu Narayan Temple.