DORSET residents put the kettle on and broke out the cake tin for the ‘world’s biggest coffee morning’ on Friday.

Hundreds of events took place in kitchens, lounges, community centres and offices across the county in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Firefighters based in Poole held a coffee morning at The Dancing Goat in Ashley Cross.

Fireman Fred Buswell said it was a “really successful” day.

“We sold the majority of our cakes and good money was raised for Macmillan with the support of The Dancing Goat,” he said.

“It’s the first time we’ve done something like this, but there’s a few firefighters on the watch who have lost people to cancer.”

As well as raising money for a good cause, the crew were able to park their fire engine at nearby St Peter’s Church and give out safety advice, as well as promote local on-call firefighter recruitment.

Colin Cross, owner of The Dancing Goat, said he was happy to host the crew and stopped selling his own cakes yesterday to encourage people to buy the donated goods.

He said: “I’ve been friends with these guys for years, and they wanted a venue which wasn’t going to cause any obstructions.

“It was really busy, there was a really good turnout.

“They’ve raised quite a lot of money - there were a lot of big notes in the charity box.”

At Marks and Spencer in Castlepoint, customers raised more than £8,000 for the charity with a month of events and special sales.

The store has donated 10 per cent of each sale from a variety of foodhall products, as well as 5p from every hot drink and slice of cake sold during September, to the charity.

Yesterday, visitors to the store enjoyed coffee and cake before taking part in raffles and competitions to raise money.

Manager Helen Snelgrove said: “It was great to see the local community joining in the fun – all the while helping to raise funds for a hugely worthwhile cause.”

Staff at Churchill Retirement Living’s head office in Ringwood raised funds with a ‘bake-off’ competition, baking-related fun and games, a cake sale and a special lunchtime hog roast.

Teachers and students at the Bishop of Winchester Academy also took a well-deserved break during their busy day to raise more than £1,000 for the cause with a raffle and cake sale.

And Great Oaks care home in Bournemouth, took part in the World's Biggest Coffee Morning, inviting residents and their families, as well as members of the community to come along and raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Great Oaks' nurse, Carole Patrick, and activities manager, Sue Goktas, also ‘Braved the Shave’ for Macmillan Cancer Support during the coffee morning.