A mid-Norfolk town has been praised for its 'amazing achievement' after its community fridge initiative received dozens of donations since its launch.

The fridge has been installed at Green Pastures bookshop on the High Street and provides a convenient way for businesses to donate food that is past its sell-by date, but within its use-by date, for use by residents free of charge.

Anita Clarke, community project co-ordinator for Love Dereham which is managing the community fridge, said: 'The first three and a half months of the Community Fridge have seen 1,584kg of food saved from landfill.

'That is an amazing achievement by the people of Dereham.

'A big thank you must go to our partners - Tesco, Flour and Bean, Lidl and Co-Op. Each one has donated a large amount of food that would otherwise have been thrown away.

'We have also had some lovely produce from individual gardeners and allotment holders.

'The people of Dereham have then been able to benefit from all this brilliant food.'

The amount of food donated to date is roughly equal to the same weight of a standard car.