THE family of a North-East man killed in the tsunami disaster is setting up a trust to help rebuild communities destroyed by the earthquake.

Steve Magson was watching his wife and daughter kayaking in the sea off Phi Phi Island, Thailand, when the wave swept in.

Mr Magson's wife, Denise, and daughter, India, survived after the wave lifted them on top of a building.

The Steve Magson Trust will help the shattered Thai community which supported the surviving Magson family members after the disaster.