A charity volunteer visited the third world to see first hand how his 20 years of fundraising work had made a difference.

Jeremy Heath, has raised thousands of pounds for Water Aid, a charity provide safe water, and effective sanitation in the developing world, but had never visited a project.

The 45-year-old water development engineer for Sutton and East Surrey Water finally visited slums in Bangladesh last month to see areas which had both benefited from the charity's work, and those desperate for support.

He said: "It was an incredible experience. To be able to sit and talk to people about the situation was amazing, and has really spurred me on and inspired me to do more."

He spent a week visiting slums in the capital, Dhaka, and third largest city, Khulna.

He saw areas which had not yet profited from the charity's work where people needed to queue for four hours a day to pay exorbitant amounts for water.

He said many of the wells that existed were drawing on water that had been poisoned by naturally occurring arsenic in the soil, while people had to go to the toilet in open sewers which fed straight into rivers.

He said: "It was like a scene from the film Slumdog Millionaire, only worse."

He also visited slums which the charity was working with.

Some had seen wells created to supply water, or giant water tanks created to catch and store water that falls during the Monsoon.

Toilets with septic tanks had also been installed.

He said one of the most interesting aspects of the trip was being able to pass on his experience from 20 years working in the water industry to the people working on the projects, and the residents living in the slums.

He said the most rewarding part of the trip was seeing the happiness the work had brought.

He said: "Its only first hand you can really appreciate what a difference has been made."

For more information on the charity's work visit wateraid.org