A KENT man has told how the local people in Sri Lanka put his family before themselves when the tsunami struck.

Terry Bates, now safely back home with his with his wife and daughter, is now urging everyone in this country to help those whose homes have been lost.

Mr Bates, from Bromley, said: "A local man in my hotel helped me pack my bags and then said two of his aunts were missing. I can’t understand why he helped me when he had that to deal with."

Mr Bates, his wife Laura and daughter Amy, 14, fled their hotel when water filled Amy’s room. She had been sleeping there just seconds earlier.

Mr Bates said: "We just ran and had no idea where we were going. A jeep driven by a local man appeared and rescued us. I caught my breath, looked around and saw 20 other tourists there."

Evacuated to local churches and finally to an empty school, the Bates family had little idea of the scale of the tragedy.

Mr Bates said: "I eventually rang my brother and told him to read everything he could and I rang back for the details. There were so many rumours flying around that you didn’t know what to believe. No-one knew what was going on."

Local people helped the tourists and salvaged food and drink for them from abandoned hotels. Mr Bates stressed they did this despite their own worries about their families, homes and businesses.

Mr Bates said: "There was a local store nicknamed Tesco’s because it sold everything, and it was one of the first to be swept away. That man had that store 25 years and it was gone in a second. He’ll be ruined."

The family, from Shroffold Road, Downham, are concerned for the islanders left behind.

"A local man said the disease following the disaster will be much worse than the situation now. We have to help them in any way we can. They’ve lost everything," Mr Bates said.

He urges people to donate to the crisis fund.

"It’s total devastation. I want people to know how much people out there suffered. They were so worried about their families but they still looked after us and made sure we were safe. Now it’s our turn to help them."