An international charity held a successful fundraising tea party at Cressing Temple, raising a whopping £11,000.

The Friends of the Hadhramaut is a UK-based charity which raises funds and donated equipment to poor desert communities in South Yemen.

Sultan and Sultana Al-Qu’Aiti, of the Hadhramaut, an area in Yemen, together with friends, arrived at the party to join British friends, local councillors and guests from Germany, America, France, Italy, Holland, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Guests included Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex Sidra Naeem and several ambassadors and attaches.

Host Angela Kilmartin said the money raised will go into maternity and gynaecological care in a poor desert village in Hadhramaut.

She said: “This area is not in the northern war zone, so our work can continue.

“I was fortunate to visit the glorious scenery of the Hadhramaut and its welcoming people some years ago, and I am delighted to help women there with this amazing money.”