THE owner of an Oswestry restaurant has marked the eatery’s 45th anniversary by giving back to the community.

George Miah BEM, of Simla Restaurant in Beatrice Street, marked the milestone by donating money to three organisations.

Mr Miah has previously hosted annual events in support of local charities and businesses, but the Covid-19 pandemic has prevented this from happening in recent times.

Despite this, he decided to put aside a portion of the restaurant’s takings and donate that to Designs in Mind, Open Space Studios and Oswestry & Borders Foodbank.

He said: “Our charity events are something we usually do every year, but due to the Covid situation obviously this has not been possible.

“Because it was our 45th anniversary here at the restaurant, we decided to take a portion of the takings over a couple of weeks and decided to give them to three local charities.

“We thought it would be a nice thing to do, especially given the way things are. Every charity is important to everyone.”

Previously, Mr Miah has supported charities including Hope House Hospice and Severn Hospice.

He believes it is important to donate to charities locally to allow them to continue supporting people in the area and to give thanks to the volunteers.

“The importance of the charity work is made clear by the volunteers who give up their time to work for those in need of help,” he said.

“Oswestry Foodbank is one that is doing a tremendous job of helping people in the community.

“Designs in Mind is also doing fantastic work focused on helping people’s mental health.

“Open Space Studios is an amazing studio for creative arts in our town.”