Supermarket shoppers in Ipswich were given a surprise this weekend when a local children’s hospice choir gave an impromptu performance in the middle of the aisles.

The Treehouse Choir - made up of mums, carers, children, young people and other family members supported by East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) - as well as staff from EACH and Sainsbury’s, spontaneously broke into a song and dance routine as part of a flash mob in the Sainsbury’s Warren Heath store on Saturday morning.

Flash mob is the term used to describe the act of people suddenly assembling in public to perform an unusual act and then quickly disperse - often for the purposes of entertainment, artistic expression or to highlight a particular cause.

The Treehouse Choir flash mob, which saw members sing and dance to a fusion of ‘Every Breath You Take’ by The Police and ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by The Black Eyed Peas took place to highlight the work of the charity, especially the support on offer for family members. Thanks to The Treehouse Choir, which is led by EACH music therapist Ray Travasso, many of the members are now close friends and support each other through sharing experiences.

Mr Travasso said: “Making music is a wonderful way to bring people together and a fantastic environment to encourage new friendships and experiences for the families we support and for our staff. It also seems a perfect way to help raise awareness for the work of children’s hospices, specifically EACH.

The event was captured on a small number of mobile phones by EACH staff and supporters and has been posted on the EACH YouTube channel.