A campaign group highlighting the plight of 1950s-born women who have been hit by a rise in their pension age is calling on Norfolk's MPs to help them get their voices heard.

Pension Action In Norfolk (PAIN), a local group supporting the national Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign (WASPI), was at the Forum in Norwich on Saturday. Members of PAIN were raising awareness of how women born in the 1950s faced having their pensions delayed by up to six years and they said they had been given little time to prepare for this.

Debbie De Spon, from PAIN, said: '[Saturday's event was] about the women of PAIN raising awareness for the fact that the rise of the state pension age to equalise it with that of men was too steep and too quick and without adequate notification.

'We have been asking people to sign a petition to ask the nine Norfolk MPs to support a cross-party group which is getting together to discuss fair transitional arrangements.

'There is a cross-party group being put together in parliament and we would like our MPs to feed into that.

'We know that the pension age has got to rise because we are all living longer, it is just the way it has been done has disadvantaged this decade of women born in the 1950s.'

She added the group had already received the support of Norwich South MP Clive Lewis and North West Norfolk MP Sir Henry Bellingham, and that Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis has agreed to meet with the group.

Mrs De Spon said the reaction from the public to the group's awareness event at The Forum had been 'absolutely brilliant' and that they estimated they had gathered several hundred signatures for the petition.

Mrs De Spon's fellow founding members of PAIN include Lorraine Wright, Lynn Nicholls, Susan Bissmire, Pat Warwick and Annette James.

To get in touch with Pension Action In Norfolk, find the group on Facebook or email pensionactioninnorfolk@yahoo.co.uk