A business based in the Dengie is celebrating the efforts of its staff this week, after members raised over £600 for a breast cancer research charity.

Burnham-on-Crouch resident Bonnie Smith arranged two fundraising events to take place at the end of October at Dengie Crops, a manufacturer based in Southminster, for Breast Cancer Now.

The charity provides world-class research and life-changing care for those diagnosed with breast cancer, alongside their families and friends.

Bonnie said: "This charity is close to many people's hearts.

"I chose Breast Cancer Now to be our first charity event in honour of my brave mum, Brenda Argent, who is now living her best life in Spain thanks to the amazing care of Southend hospital and charities such as Breast Cancer Now who not only support the patients but their families too."

Staff enjoyed a range of games and activities - including "splat the rat" and "find the treasure" - alongside a cake sale and choice of food during the days, which took place on Friday 22 and Tuesday 26 October to allow both rotating night and day shift staff to take part.

There was also a tombola full of prizes which were donated by generous businesses across Burnham.

The star prize was a big hamper provided by Sandra Mills from Bev's Bucket, an initiative begun by Beverely O'Connor, who worked at Tesco Express in Burnham, after she set up a bucket for loose change in the store to raise money for charities.

Sandra took over the initiative after Bev, who was dedicated to raising money for breast cancer research, died in 2019 and gave the hamper to Dengie Crops in her memory.

Other residents to donate prizes were Catherine Wilson from Pelican Prints, Cathy Vale the community champion for Maldon Morrison's, Helen Dawson from Grey & Co Soft Furnishings, Dawn Maria Rouse from Sewn Personally For You, Marts Parts and The Lovely Shop.

Newell's Cakes and Bakes also delivered booby cakes to staff at the business' Howells Farm site in Maldon, while Maldon Tesco provided pink bags with goodies and Dengie staff members also donated bottles and goodies.

Sheena Valla, the manager at Dengie Crops, said: "Thanks to Bonnie and team Dengie, the charity is to receive a whopping £638.56 from the activities of fun and games and lots of eating over Dengie's two sites and two shifts.

"An additional £100 donation has been made directly to the charity from the company."

Bonnie added: "Additional thanks to staff who helped make the days a great success - Mark, Marcus and Kim in the engineering team building Bat the rat, Shane Hasler for the graffiti, Dave Vince and Mark Pearson for setting up areas for the games."

She also thanked Wendy Sumner for "helping with portion control and serving in the tea room", alongside Les Abbott's wife who made "the most scrummie lemon drizzle traybake and three whopping big cakes too".

She continued: "We hope that Shane Hasler wasn't stopped on the way home with an enormous pink unicorn strapped to his back on his motorbike - Shane went all out buying ticket after ticket on the tombola, determined that his unicorn mad daughter would be the winner."

This was the first of Dengie Crop's charity fundraisers, organised by Bonnie and made possible by the generosity of residents and businesses who dug deep to support the charity.