FROM flying paper aeroplanes to becoming radio stars for the day, people in East Anglia have taken part in all sorts of madcap events to raise money for Children in Need.

FROM flying paper aeroplanes to becoming radio stars for the day, people in East Anglia have taken part in all sorts of madcap events to raise money for Children in Need.

While some schoolchildren used the fundraising appeal as an excuse to stay in their pyjamas all day, several employees were happy to dunk their boss in goo - if it pulled in the pounds.

Chilton Primary School pupils Joshua Gooderham and Amelia Whomes became stars for the day as they hosted their own show on BBC Radio Suffolk.

Rob Dunger, who usually presents the show from 5am to 6.30am, said: “I'm worried now - they were really good and completely free of fear.

“Events happen throughout the day so it was nice to kick off Children In Need in Suffolk early.”

And while they were presenting, their classmates in Stowmarket held a teddy bear party and sold Pudsey biscuits.

The 200 pupils and 18 staff at St Mary's Primary School, in Woodbridge, put their aeronautical skills to the test when they held a sponsored grand “fly off” in the hall.

Sebastian Garfield, eight, thought up the event, which saw each participant pay £1 to Children in Need in exchange for a piece of paper, which they had half-an-hour to turn into a plane.

But the BBC appeal is not the sole preserve of children, as 48 members of Thorpeness Golf Club and staff of Thorpeness and Aldeburgh Hotels showed.

The men's captain, Richard Newton, teed off the start of a 24-hour “golfathon”, which took place at Banff Springs in the Rockies, courtesy of the golf club simulator.

Kelly Fisher, who organised the event, said: “We started at 3pm on Thursday and we would like to thank everyone who took part - particularly those who got up in the middle of the night!”

Yoxford Primary School children dressed their favourite toys in bandages to look like the Children in Need mascot and enjoyed a healthy packed lunch prepared by the school cook at a special picnic.

There was a role-reversal at Southwold Primary School as the children had a non-uniform day and the teachers donned red sweatshirts with the school's logo.

Meanwhile, the SD School of Martial Arts held a sponsored “punchathon” in Colchester, where students of varying ages punched as many times as they could within a set period during their karate class.

Staff at Colchester law firm Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP held a special red-themed party to raise funds for the appeal, dressing up in the colour, eating red foods and sipping rouge cocktails.

Senior partner, Tony Fisher, said: “As a law firm we deal daily with many issues involving children and young people and are very conscious of the enormous part that Children in Need plays in helping those who are disadvantaged.”

Pudsey Bear will be making a guest appearance in George Yard, Braintree, today and restaurant staff at The Barn Brasserie, in Great Tey, will be relying on their customer service skills and donating half of all the tips they receive from customers this week.

Legal secretary and self-confessed petrolhead Helen Chapman will be paying £13,500 towards the Children in Need appeal - so she can be hurled around a race track at speeds of up to 150mph.

The 35-year-old mother, who works for a Bury St Edmunds law firm, out-bid the competition to land a special weekend with the new Jaguar racing team.

As part of the "Things Money Can't Buy" package she won from the Radio 2 show Terry's Old Geezers or Gals she will be in the pits for the debut race of the 400bhp Jaguar XKR machines in May next year.

Teenage students from Unity House in Sudbury, part of the Ryes special school in nearby Little Henny, raised £300 yesterday with a table sale and cake stall on Market Hill.

In Bury St Edmunds, staff at Glasswells World of Furniture paid for the privilege of taking part in a sport-themed event - dressing up as surfers, cyclists, cricketers and footballers.

While the live television show hosted by Terry Wogan, Natasha Kaplinski and Fearne Cotton started on BBC 1 last night, staff at AXA's call centre in Ipswich took pledges.

Disabled people danced all day at Papworth Trust's Progression Centre in Ipswich while children from Castle Hill Junior School were quiet as they took part in a sponsored silence.

Food lovers enjoyed exotic cuisine at an Indian food mela in Ipswich and council workers at Babergh District Council's Hadleigh headquarters dressed up in tuxedos and tiaras.

Staff at Bangladeshi restaurant The Mogul, in Manningtree, cooked a giant curry in a 3ft-high cauldron, in an effort to raise £500, with the giant dish served to diners last night.

Youngsters from St Joseph's College in Ipswich held a pyjama party while toddlers from a Stratford St Mary kindergarten and teenagers at Orwell High School in Woodbridge dressed up for the day.

Staff at M W Partridge hardware store in Hadleigh dressed up in outlandish costumes and ladies in Felixstowe hosted a massive pamper party.

Young Jack Wilmot, from Reydon and Southwold Childrens Centre, raised £325 after collecting money in Southwold High Street with his mother and Sharon Doy while dressed as Pudsy.

Children at Springfield Infants, in Ipswich, and the Ipswich Preparatory School wore spotty clothes and staff dunked their manager in goo at the Morrison's supermarket in Felixstowe.

Soldiers from Woodbridge pulled their weight at Imperial War Museum, in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, as they joined a sponsored tank pull, and fitness fans are due to row the 184-mile length of the Thames on rowing machines today .

The annual, nationwide BBC event, which raised a gigantic £33million last year, is in aid of under 18s who have suffered hardship, difficulties and disadvantage.