Whitehaven Rotary Club is holding a tea party at Florence Arts Centre to support a campaign to eradicate polio.

The group, which will meet at the centre on Saturday, May 6, is supporting a worldwide bid to beat the disease.

Chairman of the community and vocational committee Anthony Payne said: "Tiptree Jam has donated 52,000 jars of either Greengage or Early Rivers Plum Jam to every Rotarian in the country.

"The idea is that rotary clubs invite people to join them for tea, helping to raise one million pounds to eradicate this dreadful disease from the world forever.

"We will be holding a tea party between 2pm and 4pm at Florence Arts Centre. There will be tea, homemade cakes and a book stall. It will also be a chance to see around Florence and have a look at the current exhibitions."

The Rotary club will be planting purple crocuses later this year across Whitehaven to raise awareness of its campaign.

Polio is transmitted via contaminated food or water and cause muscle weakness, which can lead to partial or total paralysis and even death. Poverty and malnutrition increase the likelihood of the disease spreading.

The campaign Purple4Polio uses the colour to represent the purple dye used to mark the finger of a child to indicate they have received their life-saving oral polio vaccine.

For more information, contact Anthony Payne on 01946 822637.