A charity which offers support to serving troops, veterans and their families has been given a boost by a King's Lynn pub.

A raffle held at the Crown and Mitre pub, just off the Tuesday Market Place, has raised �439 for King's Lynn-based The Bridge for Heroes.

It was the first time in 12 years that the pub, run by Roger Duggan, has raised money for charity and the cash raised was handed to Bridge for Heroes volunteers Ken Ward and David Kelsey today.

The charity currently runs a town centre facility in Lynn which helps people to take their first steps in tackling post-traumatic stress.

Mr Ward said: 'We were delighted to hear how much money the Crown and Mitre had raised and we can't thank Roger and his regulars enough for this fantastic sum. The money will go towards running the centre and it will help us run it for 22 days.'

Mr Duggan added: 'We are happy with the amount we raised considering we don't do a lot of fundraising here.'

Prizes for the raffle were donated by Lynn's Booker Wholesale store, Humpty Dumpty Brewery, Lincoln-based Small Beers, Fakenham Foods, Cook's Butchers in West Walton, and the pub's regulars.

The Bridge for Heroes opened the country's first dedicated town centre facility to offer emotional support for those at risk of suffering from post-traumatic stress in King's Lynn in May last year.

The drop-in centre also operates as a charity shop and as a small museum of British military history and has the support of a large team of volunteers who help run the facility.

The charity wants to open contact centres in Hunstanton and Cromer this year and operate hotels in the two coastal towns by 2014 to give serving and former troops and their families a free holiday.