A family who invited friends and relatives to their home for an India-themed party raised £19,000 for charity.

Christopher and Virginia Spray invited 180 guests to their Lower Heyford home for WaterAid.

Guests were asked to dress in saris and turbans and ate lunch in an authentic Marharaja tent.

The couple set up a host of stalls selling Indian jewellery and pashminas, henna paintings, fortune telling, Indian head massages and music.

An auction, which included holidays, sailing trips, an organic Christmas turkey and two live chickens, helped raise £10,000.

Mrs Spray decided to hold the party after reading a story in House and Garden magazine about Water-Aid.

She said: "Having recently visited both India and Tanzania and seen the plight of people living without clean water, we felt we would like to take part in the House and Garden event by throwing a fundraising party.

"It's heartbreaking to see the world's poorest people having to survive on a bucket of water a day. More often than not, the water is contaminated and full of disease but if it's the only water available, then people have no choice.

"When we told our friends what we were planning on doing and why we were doing it, all of them reacted incredibly positively. They really got into the spirit of the event"

WaterAid's corporate fundraising manager Emily Boyd-Carpenter said: "While we in the developed world take water in our houses and gardens for granted, more than 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe water, and 2.2 million people die every year from diseases associated with poor sanitation."

"We're absolutely thrilled that Virginia and Chris's party raised so much money for us - it only costs £15 to give a person in the developing world a lasting supply of safe water and sanitation so this party alone will help over 1,200 people to a better life."