THE NEPALESE Association of Wiltshire held a charity fundraising dinner this weekend to support their efforts to build a community hall in the town.

More than 300 guests from the local Nepalese community gathered at the Punjabi Community Hall for an evening of cultural celebration.

Guests were treated to a sumptuous banquet and drinks with dance and a raffle

JB Gurung, a former Gurkha who was one of the organisers of the event said: “We would like to show that we are here, introduce ourselves and that we are together with the community as one.

JB said the event was a big hit and hoped to show off some of the traditions enjoyed by the community.

“Since my arrival here in 2009 I have believed in the idea of a big society and we want to involve ourselves in the community as much as possible as well as fundraise. This is to say, we are here, and show some of our cultures and traditions, and raise money for the hall we hope to have.”

“I am delighted with how it is going today. I am very excited about the evening and I know everyone else is looking forward to it as well.

Following a high-profile campaign, in 2009, veteran Gurkhas, who fought for Britain, won the right to move here.

That led to a significant increase to the number of Nepalese people who were living in Swindon.

JB hopes to raise £20,000 from the event. More than £100,000 has already been raised.

.