An Edinburgh based charity which cares for destitute children in India says the hit movie Slumdog Millionaire has led to a huge increase in interest in their work.

Scottish Love in Action provides homes, education and medical care for around 500 youngsters in the south east of the country. They say the problems faced by the movie's central character are similar to those of the youngsters they help.

Scene of children having to scavenge in rubbish tips for paper, rags or anything they think they could sell prompted an Edinburgh nurse to help them.

The children are members of India's poorest class - they are known as Dalits or Untouchables.

Former nurse Gille Davidson set up Scottish Love in Action, a charity which funds two homes in the south east of india where the youngsters are fed, educated and given medical care.

She said: "These children have suffered terribly, the youngest one that came was rescued from a rubbish bin at just eight days old, she'd been chucked in the tip, she’s now five and I get much joy from watching her develop."

At the moment charity workers are busier than ever. Workers believe they have the blockbuster Slumdog Millionaire, about an impoverished Indian orphan, to thank.

Colin McRae from Scottish Love in Action said: "It has really highlighting the issues we have in India. People can see from the film what the children there are facing and it really helps our supporters and potential supporters to see how we can help these children."

The wall so the charity's small offices in Edinburgh are covered with pictures of children they have helped. It costs just six pounds a month to educate each one. Volunteers here hope the hit movie will encourage more people to help them change the lives of India's so-called Untouchables.