Shoppers in Bury St Edmunds are being encouraged to cast their votes for community groups which support serving military personnel, veterans and their families in a special round of Tesco funding.

The Bags of Help initiative, run in partnership with Groundwork, sees money raised from the sale of carrier bags awarded to thousands of community projects every year.

In this special round of funding in November and December, groups supporting the armed forces in 17 locations across the UK are being given the chance to share £100,000.

In Bury St Edmunds, The Children of the Fallen, RS Zest and Adventure Training Equipment have been shortlisted.

Shoppers can cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in the supermarket.

Alec Brown, head of community and local communications at Tesco, said: “Bags of Help is a campaign which responds to the needs of local communities and supports groups which help change lives.

“I’m very proud that we’ve been able to create this special Bags of Help round of funding to support groups which work with serving personnel, veterans and their families and I’m sure customers will do their bit for the cause by voting in store.”

Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s national chief executive, said: “This is a great opportunity for local people to vote for projects which support individuals and families affected by conflict.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how groups use the funding to help them carry out their fantastic work in communities all over the UK.”