A charity that helps families with young children is calling on new volunteers to come forward.

Home-Start Breckland and South Norfolk provides support for parents to cope during difficult times and give their children the best, healthiest and happiest possible start in life. It trains volunteers, who must be parents themselves or have parenting experience, to give practical and emotional support.

The charity helps families across 68 parishes and four towns in Breckland and South Norfolk and is expanding its work into smaller villages and rural locations.

The next preparation course for volunteers begins on March 1.

Natalie Spurdens, senior coordinator for Home-Start, added: 'All of our volunteers are mums or grandmas at the moment, but dads and granddads and foster parents are very welcome too. We know that there are lots of people in our area with high level parenting skills. This is an opportunity for them to help families that are struggling for one reason or another.'

Volunteers help in many ways, including passing on cooking and housekeeping skills, accompanying families on visits to other services, helping with play and providing a kindly, listening ear.

For more information, call 01842 765206 or homestartbsn63@greenbee.net