A YOUNG woman from Copythorne who escaped the horror of the Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand is now backing the worldwide support for the disaster fund. Jo Dixie.

She had been working in the Thai resort of Khao Lak and after running from the massive and deadly wave, she managed to survive by scrambling on to the roof of a building with the help of a friend.

And after being flown home by her father within hours of the disaster, she is now happily supporting the fund-raising activities by talking about her experience when the wave struck.

And she played a part in helping out by speaking at an overwhelmingly successful fund-raising event at Copythorne Village Hall on Saturday when villagers and their visitors raised a glittering £5,000.

Jo had been running an underwater video business in Khao Lak with her German boyfriend, Klaus Fastenmeier, and was at their bungalow, about 100 metres from the sea, when she saw people running away from the beach and the massive tidal wave bearing down on them ((the area is low lying and the tsunami wave swept a mile in land before receding)

"I was absolutely terrified. The fear in the air was unreal. It's impossible for me to explain how scared everyone was. It was human instinct to run."

After running through a field she was helped on to the roof of a building and she recalled: "My friend, who had reached that point at the same time, helped me, otherwise I don't think I would be able to get up.

"The water just rushed under the house and went up as far as the roof. The only people you could see were those who had managed to get up on strong buildings."

Jo was sitting on the very top of the roof and the water rose right up to the first row of tiles below her. "People were rushing past in the water at about 30 mph and screaming, I really didn't know how I'd made it; I thought that was it."

After waters receded, she and the friend walked knee-deep in mud before she found boyfriend Klaus alive and well and then spent the rest of the day on a mountain.

The following day, she was reunited with her father, Frank, who runs the Premier Shipping freight company in Eastleigh.

He had dashed to Heathrow on Boxing Day morning to catch a plane to Thailand immediately he had heard about the disaster and Jo said: "When I saw him, it was the best cuddle I've ever had."

Since returning to the UK Jo has learned of many friends who did not survive the disaster.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with my life from now on. My boyfriend is in Germany, I'm in England and at the moment we are having to wait for our passports to be renewed."

All their video equipment and vital undersea footage were lost in the floods. However, Jo has not ruled out a return to Thailand - country she says she loves.

One good reason for returning is to be reunited with her pet dog, which survived and is being looked after by friends

Saturday's fund raising event started in the morning when hundreds of people made bids for items donated by parishioners at an auction, which raised well over £1,000 by midday.

The hall was then quickly prepared for an afternoon concert, which was preceded by a Jo's vivid personal account.

The concert itself featured over 100 people dancing, singing and reciting monologues. Although most of the cast was young, those taking part also included parish councillors and the Vicar of Copythorne, the Rev Neville Jacob. Churches, Guides and Scouts and the Foresters Flower Club were also well-represented and at the end of the afternoon the amount raised had soared to £3,000.

Then came a repeat concert in the evening, which ended just before midnight, when it was announced that over £5,000 would be raised for the Disasters Emergency Committee.

And at going-home time, is transpired that the organisers had thought of everything with tractors on hand to tow cars out of the muddy parking field.

The event had the support of Barclays Bank and the Allied and Leicester Bank.