A firm with offices in Norwich and Attleborough has raised £9,000 for the Big C charity.

Staff at Alan Boswell Group (ABG) totted up the total on dress-down days and at cake sales as well as with audacious sky dives, endurance cycle rides and an entertaining staff bike race in the Gas Hill Gasp.

The insurance brokers and financial planners picked the Big C as their nominated charity for 2013, and charity organisers were delighted.

Diane Northway, Big C community fundraising manager, said: 'What a terrific sum!

'Alan Boswell Group's staff got right behind us and did some incredible things, all in the name of charity.

'The group has a long association with Big C, raising a staggering £47,000 in the last decade alone.'

Norfolk children's charity Nelson's Journey has been chosen for 2014.

Its charitable pledge to bring back smiles to bereaved children is something 220 staff at Alan Boswell Group are gearing up to support.

Colin Lang, chief executive of Nelson's Journey, said: 'We're absolutely delighted to have been selected by such a pro-active business.

'We're a local charity and gaining support from local firms is vital to our fundraising efforts. It means we can continue to support bereaved young people across Norfolk.'

Nelson's Journey provides support for children and young people living in Norfolk who have experienced the death of a significant person in their life.

The funds they raise are used to improve the emotional wellbeing of bereaved children by: increasing their confidence and self-belief; providing education about the causes of death; and enabling families to talk openly about their bereavement.

Charity bosses estimate that one in 29 school-aged children have experienced the death of a parent or sibling, and in Norfolk this equates to approximately 3,825 children.

This figure is significantly higher when pre-school children and 17 year olds are included.

During 2013, 504 children from around Norfolk received a service from Nelson's Journey.

Alan Boswell Group is a chartered insurance brokers with more than 220 staff based across six locations –Norwich, Attleborough, Bury St Edmunds, Peterborough, London and Ely.

They raised more than £7,000 for East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) in 2012.

For details see www.big-c.co.uk or www.nelsonsjourney.co.uk or www.alanboswellgroup.com