A building society in Diss has stepped up to be part of a national campaign to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

On Friday colleagues at the Norwich & Peterborough (N&P) Building Society in the Market Place, took it in turns to complete a six and a half hour 'step-a-thon' and accomplish a total of 24,000 steps on a stepper machine.

The staff were raising money for Yorkshire Building Society's Hour of Need campaign, of which N&P is part. The money raised will enable Marie Curie Nurses to provide even more vital support for terminally ill people and their families across East Anglia and the rest of the UK.

Abby Ridley, 39, manager of the Diss branch of N&P said: 'We are all proud to be supporting Marie Curie with the 'Hour of Need' campaign. We know Marie Curie is a charity close to the hearts of many people in our community.'

Marie Curie is the leading charity providing care to people living with any terminal illness in their own homes or in one of its nine hospices across the UK. The charity is also a leader in research into the best ways of caring for people with a terminal illness.

During the past two years N&P raised a total of £350,000 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and hope that the new two and a half year fundraising campaign for Marie Curie will raise more than £500.000 for the charity.

Keen stepper and customer consultant Charly Fisher, 23, said: 'I completed more than an hour on the machine. My legs may ache but it was worth it. We would all like to thank every one who have supported and donated to the event.'

Norwich & Peterborough Building Society which has 45 branches in East Anglia merged with Yorkshire Building Society back in November 2011 and every £20 raised in the 'Hour of Need' campaign will fund one hour of care by a Marie Curie Nurse.

To donate to the campaign visit www.justgiving.com/hourofneed

Are you raising money for charity? Email michelle.finch@archant.co.uk