A city shop and café has made an unusual plea to its customers – for help in raising the money to get a licence to serve alcohol and provide outdoor seating.

The team behind the Gluten Free Shop & Café, in Timberhill in Norwich, have launched a Kickstarter campaign to get the necessary permissions granted in time for the summer.

Louisa Kiddell and Tony Garrick opened their city-centre premises in January after moving from Hellesdon Barns.

But the pair say, having put all their personal savings into that project, they need help from customers.

They are asking for customers to provide £2,100 to secure a licence to sell gluten free beer and to provide seating outside their premises.

Ms Kiddell said: 'We are very keen to get outdoor seating, and to give our customers the choice of having an alcoholic drink with their meal, as well as being able to offer a great range of gluten/wheat free beers to take away.

'But having put all of our personal savings into the Timberhill project we need just a little investment to help us achieve the next step.'

She said extra seating would help capacity on busy days as the restrictions on the building mean it has limited seating.

Rewards on offer in return for pledges of money include meals at the café and tickets to special gluten free summer barbecues.

The project needs to raise £2,100 and ends on April 30. Details are at Kickstarter.co.uk or www.norfolkglutenfree.co.uk

While many choose to follow a gluten-free diet, for those with coeliac disease it is not a lifestyle choice.

Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disease (not an allergy) caused by intolerance to gluten – a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley.

There is no known cure for the condition and the only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet.

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