Fundraising for an independent hospice for Great Yarmouth and Waveney is going so well that plans are ahead of schedule.

East Coast Hospice (ECH) is pushing on with its ambitious plans to build a 10-bed hospice on the edge of Gorleston and, as spring arrives, is gearing up for another successful year of raising funds.

The charity launched its capital campaign to raise £4m at the start of last year and, as of last month, had more than £1m in the bank.

'We should be putting foundations in by summer 2016 - much earlier than I had anticipated,' said ECH chairman Jenny Beesley.

Having recently bought a further slice of land on Sidegate Road, off the A12, ECH now owns the entire field and is looking to physically start usign the site this autumn - starting with a celebration on the exact spot where Margaret Chadd House will be built.

They are also expanding further north.

'We're opening new shops in Fuller's Hill and North Walsham and we're looking at Cromer,' said Jenny.

'At the moment, our seven shops are where we get the bulk of our income from. We want a total of 15 shops by the end of the year.

'As for the fundraising, it has been incredible and it keeps coming. We can't thank people enough for everything they are doing to support us.'

Last year Gorleston man Malcolm Metcalf travelled 10,000 miles across America for ECH, while Anne Alger walked 500 miles across Spain, Corinne Bryant and friends jumped out of an aeroplane, and countless others collected donations.

Nadia Sondh, ECH marketing officer, said there were plenty of ways to get involved this year too.

'Firstly for the brave now is the time to sign up to take part in a sponsored skydive,' she said.

'ECH has its own day allotted to them at Ellough Airport on July 19 and welcomes everyone who would like to do something crazy for money. So far we have six people interested, including a spritely 83 year old lady, so if you were thinking your excuse could be your age then think again!

'Secondly for the energetic, you may have noticed that the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival is returning to Oulton Broad on May 31.

'If you can get together a team of 11 people to race you could join in on what is going to be a brilliant day.

'And for those with energetic dogs or a passion for walking, the Great Yarmouth Rotary Club are holding their 14th annual Sponsored Spring Walk on the May 10. you can choose to walk six or 10 miles around Acle for a great cause.'