Charity bosses in the region have spoken of their disappointment after retail giant Amazon announced its intention to close its online fundraising initiative. 

Amazon Smile is a version of the online store which allows shoppers to make donations to local charities with their purchases.

The process sees people shop as normal, but for certain purchases a small percentage of proceeds will be donated to participating charitable organisations.

However the company, which is worth billions, has announced that it is winding down the service - which will be completely shut down by February 20.

The closure comes a decade after the service launched. Since then, thousands of charities have participated, including a long list in Norfolk.

Amazon said the service "has not grown to create the impact we had originally hoped".

But charity bosses in the region say they are disappointed by the decision, which has come at a financially challenging time for them.

Allan Myatt, chief executive at Ormiston Families, which supports young people and families across East Anglia, said: "The proposed closure of Amazon Smile is a blow to many charities, including us. For ten years, it provided an opportunity for people to donate while shopping online and raised lots of money in the process.

"That money helped Ormiston Families run its services such as helping families affected by imprisonment and children who have been affected by bereavement.

"Many charities will have had thousands of pounds a year donated to them through Amazon Smile, money which they will now have to find in other ways.

"We hope Amazon will honour its pledge to continue to support charitable causes, and that charities such as ours don't get forgotten in the process."

Tom Holmes, events and engagement manager at Big C added: "The news that Amazon Smile is to cease is disappointing for the many, often small, charitable causes and community groups that have benefitted from this support.

"At Big C our supporters will have the alternative to shop through Easy Fundraising, which is a similar type of scheme which many high street shops are signed up for."