The owner of a Brecon hair and beauty salon has returned from her family’s village in Nepal after donating more than £1,000 to schools there.

Sita Gaha, 43, who owns the Paradise Hair and Beauty Salon on Rich Way, raised the money through a charity Valentines dinner at Brecon High School in February of this year.

The mother of two managed to raise a total of £1,327 which went to the two Nepalese schools which were having problems with their water supplies following earthquakes which struck the country in 2015.

Over 100 people attended the charity dinner which included a home-cooked three course meal for £15 per person or £5 for children aged under eight.

The money was donated to Sri Chandresvari Primary School in Bakum and Suti Suryadei Primary School in Maleng.

Ms Gaha said: “It was a success – it was just one night but we worked so hard.

“We cooked all the food because we knew if we paid for someone else to do it or if we bought it, we’d lose some of the money we’d raised towards that.

“It felt so good when we went to Nepal with the money because of how hard we’d worked.”

Despite Ms Gaha’s initial aim to raise £8,000 for the two schools, the Nepalese Government helped to pay for the water supply in the community.

Ms Gaha, who has lived in Brecon since 2005 when her husband was posted to the town with the army, said it was a big responsibility and it felt like a huge relief when she donated the money. She said: “They are just little primary schools and they were struggling with water. If I can help, I will help and I know that a lot of people around Brecon are happy to help.

“Having been to Nepal last month (November), I just feel a lot lighter.”

Ms Gaha, her husband Om and their 17-year-old son Ishu all went to Nepal where they donated the money to the schools.

The beautician, who has run the salon for seven years, said they have decided to stop fundraising as the water supply is now sorted however she said they are still looking to help in other ways.

As well as donating a month’s worth of tips – a full tip jar – she said when she’s over there she also looks to help pay for supplies at the remote schools.

Ms Gaha, who also has a 19-year-old daughter studying at Plymouth University, said it felt good to return from Nepal to update Brecon residents on the progress being made in the village, which is home to a lot of her family.

She said: “I would like to thank the people of Brecon from the bottom of my heart, especially the people who helped make such a successful charity night.”