Youngsters from a West Norfolk sports club have presented more than �2,000 to Scotty's Little Soldiers so bereaved children can enjoy a brighter Christmas.

Around 75 players, parents and coaches from Terrington Tigers Football Club tackled this year's Grand East Anglia Run (GEAR) in King's Lynn, raising just over �7,000 for charity.

The money has been divided between Scotty's, which supports the children of fallen servicemen and women, and the Bryan Gunn Appeal, a charity funding research into childhood cancer and leukaemia.

Children in all teams, from the under 6s to the girl's under 16 side, took part in GEAR and completed either the 10km course or the junior version in their Tigers kit.

The club, based in Terrington St Clement, has about 135 players in ten teams and Coach Andrew Bly said children of all ages were keen to get fund-raising.

'I started taking part in GEAR about five years ago with just a couple of friends and more people are joining us every year,' he said. 'This time we had about 50 children and 25 adults taking part, which was brilliant.

'We're already planning to put in a team in next year. Our �7,000 was a fantastic amount so I don't know if we can top that - we will certainly give it a good try, though.'

The Tigers handed �2,288 to Una Mulligan-Quenby, an assistant fund-raiser with Scotty's Little Soldiers, in a special presentation at the village's Memorial Playing Field yesterday morning (Saturday).

Scotty's is run by war widow Nikki Scott, whose husband Lee was killed in Afghanistan in 2009, and currently helps nearly 30 children across the UK, from babies under the age of one who have never seen their fathers to 14-year-olds.

Christmas can be an especially difficult time of year for families missing a parent, so the charity has been collecting gifts to spread some festive cheer and bring a smile to bereaved children.

Visit the website at www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk to find out more.