Tesco has given a £500 boost to help a Caister scout group pay for its first overseas trip in 20 years.

1st Caister Scout Group has also been invited into the Tesco Caister store on Yarmouth Road three times in the run up to Christmas so it can boost donations by helping customers to pack their shopping.

The 100-strong group, which is based at the King George v playing field, is trying to raise £4,000 to help pay for a week-long trip to Austria involving 35 of its scouts and explorers and is still £2,500 short of its target.

Parents are paying the travel costs but the fundraising is needed to pay for all the activities the youngsters will experience in the Lechtal Valley, including canyoning, white water rafting, climbing, hiking and biking.

Tesco Caister store manager Jim Dawes presented the cheque for the £500 to the scout group at the scout hall.

He said: “1st Caister Scout Group does some fantastic work with local young people and gives them some brilliant opportunities. We are delighted to be able to help raise money for what will be an amazing trip for those involved.”

Scout Leader Lisa Garrod said: “Tesco have been brilliant with us and the help they are providing goes a long way towards helping us reach our fundraising target.

“This is definitely going to be the trip of a lifetime and for many of the young people going it will be their first time abroad and their first time on a plane.

“The aim is for it to be educational but fun and we think it is important that those who are going will be the ones who visit the Tesco store to help raise the money to pay for it, so that they realise the hard work involved and they are not being given everything on a plate.”