Employees from a Winchester company have taken part in fundraiser hosted by the Samaritans.

On Friday members from Denplan took part in Phone Free Friday which saw them abandon their mobiles from 9am-5pm.

It was aimed at promoting the charity which has answered 41,831 calls over the past 12 months – up by more than 1,000 on the previous year.

Those who were unable to leave the technology alone were forced to face penalties.

Catherine Johnstone, Samaritans’ CEO, said: “Samaritans answers more than five million calls for help every year, and we need to make sure we continue to be there for anyone struggling to cope.

“We are asking our supporters to turn off their personal mobile phones for one day and donate.”