A little girl who donated her pocket money to help a charity hit by vandals was guest of honour at its first birthday celebrations.

Aimee Kitchen, eight, gave �5 to Wymondham-based cancer charity Star Throwers after hearing how two welcome signs, worth �200, outside its centre in Melton Road had been ruined with indelible ink in September.

Her generosity was repaid when she was invited to the charity's anniversary bash, alongside Chris Bartlet, who designed and constructed the new signs, and Wymondham Town Mayor Colin Foulger.

In a letter to the centre, Aimee wrote: 'I saw it in the paper that some nasty people wrote on your sign.

'It made me very sad. I would like you to have this �5 to put towards getting new ones.'

Dozens of people braved the cold weather to mark one year of Star Throwers, which was set up by oncology specialist Henry Mannings.

The centre, which is run entirely by volunteers, gives advice on cancer treatments, provides complementary therapies, offers a relaxed environment where patients and their families can discuss their experiences, helps raise funds for research into treatments and provides education for schoolchildren on cancer prevention and early detection.

During the birthday event, visitors were treated to coffee and homemade cakes, as well as competitions, a raffle and stalls full of potential Christmas gifts.

Anthea Turrell, from Star Throwers, said support for the charity had increased in recent months as more and more people have learned about its services.

'The first year has been very, very interesting. It's been a very important one and we're thrilled in the way people have responded to us. Wymondham has been a wonderful community who have supported us so much,' she said.

'A lot of people feel it [Star Throwers] is just Wymondham-based, but if you yourself have cancer or a relative does and they want to talk about it, you will travel a very long distance. For towns in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and East Anglia generally, we're not that far away. We hope that people in other areas will appreciate us too.'

For more information on Star Throwers, call 01953 423304 or visit www.starthrowers.org.uk