Local schools will be taking part in a range of World Diabetes Day activities on Monday led by a local primary school headteacher who has type one diabetes.

Oliver Burwood, from Blofield Primary School, has been organising the activities and will be hosting a special assembly in his school to raise awareness of diabetes and its risk factors.

Mr Burwood said: 'The overarching theme for World Diabetes Day is education and prevention, so I wanted to take this opportunity to raise awareness of how serious diabetes can be.

'There are an estimated 25,000 children with diabetes in the UK who need help and support to manage their condition and hopefully these activities will also help more children be aware of how to reduce their risk of developing type two diabetes later in life.'

There are 34,583 people who have been diagnosed with diabetes in Norfolk and 2.9m people in the UK.

Children in schools supplied by Norse catering will be asked to take in a 'Doodle for diabetes' competition by colouring in images of Norwich Castle which, along with City Hall in Norwich, will be lit up in blue to mark today to mark World Diabetes Day.

Norse will then compile these pictures to produce a book, which will be donated to the Jenny Lind children's ward at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, which treats children and young people with diabetes to show them that they do not have to manage their condition alone.

Bishop of Norwich, Graham James, is another high-profile supporter of the campaign locally. He said: 'Nearly all of us are aware of someone who lives with diabetes and their personal story.

'Not so many of us pause to consider the global scale of millions of people whose lives take a similar journey and so often without the professional, medical support appreciated by our friends and families in this country. 'People throughout the world have a right to medical care. I am glad to support World Diabetes Day which seeks to promote understanding of this condition'

People with diabetes are at risk of complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness and amputation. Yet many of these can be prevented if people regularly receive all the vital 15 healthcare checks and specialist services they need to stay healthy.

For more information, go to www.diabetes.org.uk/15-essentials