Norfolk and Waveney's very own cancer charity has been given a major boost by businesses which have pledged at least �125,000 to help people struck down by the devastating disease.

Norfolk and Waveney's very own cancer charity has been given a major boost by businesses which have pledged at least �125,000 to help people struck down by the devastating disease.

Twenty-five businesses in Norwich and the county have vowed to raise �5,000 each for the Big C in this its 30th year - and the charity is looking for just five more to follow suit and help push past the �150,000 mark.

Business leaders who have already signed up to the scheme joined charity bosses on Tuesday evening to launch a raffle for a new Subaru car - with all money raised going to the charity.

Sharon Hulbert, PR and corporate fundraising relations manager for Big C, said the response from the business community in Norfolk had been fantastic.

She said: “It will make such a difference. It helps Big C get across the message that we're the local cancer charity for Norfolk and Waveney and that every penny raised by these businesses or these people is spent in Norfolk and Waveney.

“It will allow us to get equipment for local hospitals - the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, the James Paget University Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

“It also enables us to fund and expand services from the Big C Centre at the N&N, gives us more money to allocate to research, but also enables us to grow and expand what support services are offered in Norfolk and Waveney both for patients and family members. It's all types of cancer and all stages of cancer.”