CHILDREN had an a-mazing time when they joined in the fun to celebrate the opening of a maze to raise money for a cancer charity.Parents also enjoyed getting lost in the maze built by farmers near Woodbridge, but there were also maps available to help them find they way out.

CHILDREN had an a-mazing time when they joined in the fun to celebrate the opening of a maze to raise money for a cancer charity.

Parents also enjoyed getting lost in the maze built by farmers near Woodbridge, but there were also maps available to help them find they way out.

Boys and girls were given helium-filled balloons on long strings and their progress through the maze could be tracked by keeping an eye on the balloons.

There are two miles of pathway to explore on the 10-acre site and the maze has been designed in the shape of an Anglo-Saxon helmet.

The design looks stunning from the air but of course at ground level you can only see the tall maize crop in front of you.

The Sutton Hoo Maize Maze was opened by Stewart White, presenter of BBC's Look East news programme, and the first 100 people through the gates on the opening day received a free pass into the new attraction.

The aim is to raise money for the Cancer Campaign in Suffolk charity. The charity is raising £300,000 towards building a cancer education and information centre at Ipswich Hospital and has raised £242,000 since the appeal was launched in 1998. It is hoped the centre will open late Spring next year after building work starts this autumn.

The maze has been made by Sutton Hoo Produce on land next to the National Trust's Sutton Hoo ship burial and the farmers hope to create the challenge annually.

They chose the cancer charity because two members of the family of Sutton Hoo Produce's managing director David Waring have had cancer.

The maze is open from 10am to 6pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday during the school holidays and from 10am to 4pm on Sunday. It will also open on August 25 and September 13 and 14.