A community organisation that provides birthday cakes for children who would not otherwise receive them has supplied its first customer.

The Free Cakes for Kids initiative, which is co-ordinated by Shauna Tate, 23, provides birthday cakes for children who would not normally get one for a variety of reasons, including deprivation and family issues.

Mrs Tate runs a baking club at the Beaters Hut on the Shadwell Estate and decided to start the group after consulting with other members, deciding there would be plenty of volunteers willing to bake for the children.

Now the group has provided the first cake to a four-year-old boy from Thetford and is appealing for anyone who feels they may qualify for a cake to get in touch with them through the website www.freecakesforkidsthetford.com.

Mrs Tate said children could be referred by Home-Start UK or the Benjamin Foundation, or they could self-refer.

She added they would be asked a series of questions to gauge their level of need and provided they met the criteria they would receive a cake.

Mrs Tate, who has two children, Loli, three and Fox, nine months, said: 'As a mother of two children, I find it really sad that some children do not get birthday cakes, so it is nice that if a family has split they can come together because they have got a birthday.'

Nationally, there are 84 groups that bake cakes for children and Mrs Tate, who lives with her husband Mick, 28, decided to set up her own organisation, which is appealing for volunteers who would be willing to help bake the cakes.