BANK staff will be devoting 350 hours to taking calls for BBC Children in Need this week.

More than 100 workers from Lloyds Banking Group Solent will be manning the phones on Friday night as the Appeal Night telethon launches.

Phones will be ringing off the hook at the office in Fareham, which is an official partner to the charity. So far staff have raised more than £13,000 for the charity and committed call takers will be donning their spots and yellow clothes to get into the Pudsey bear spirit and help disadvantaged youngsters.

Marion Smee from the Solent branch said “With BBC Children in Need being our charity of the year this year, the team has already gone the extra mile with its volunteering and fundraising activities. We are really looking forward to building on that support and making a difference to the fantastic work being done by the charity in communities including Solent.”

In the days leading up to appeal night on November 13, staff will be hosting a bake sale and dressing up in school uniform and playing school games before finally dressing up as superheroes to follow this year’s BBC Children in Need theme.