Volunteers collecting food for the poor were delighted with the public's response at the official launch of their Foodbank.

The Waveney Foodbank held a series of collections in market towns across south Norfolk and north Suffolk on Saturday to mark the official launch since becoming an independent charity after previously sharing warehouse facilities with the Norwich Foodbank.

And the 20 volunteers outside the Budgens supermarket in Harleston received half a ton of food donations from generous shoppers during a seven hour stint outside the store, enough to feed up to 40 people.

Volunteer Graham Reardon said: 'The generosity of people is so great. I mean, this is just a small town and a small supermarket and to collect half a ton of food here is just amazing.'

He added if a similar amount had been collected at Bungay Buttercross and the Co-Op in Diss then the event would be considered a success.

The Waveney Foodbank now has a warehouse facility in Stanley Road, Diss to store all the food after having to use a warehouse in Norwich.

The donations are distributed to people who have been recommended to the Foodbank scheme by social care agencies, such as the Citizens Advice Bureau.

The recipient is given a voucher which they can then take to a Foodbank distribution point to be exchanged for food.

Donations are taken to the foodbank warehouse, where they are sorted into boxes sufficient to provide a nutritionally balanced diet for three days for those who have hit life crises and cannot afford to eat.

There are different sized boxes catering for a single person, a couple or a family.

The Foodbank scheme was set up by the charity the Trussell Trust to help the 13 million people living below the poverty line in the UK and involves the charity partnering with churches to distribute enough food to last at least three days.