by Martin Jefferies

Most of us don't need an excuse for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake but if you do, how about having some to help cancer patients in Kent?

Macmillan Cancer Support's annual World's Biggest Coffee Morning takes place today, with dozens of events taking place across the county.

Last year, 43,000 people signed up to hold a coffee morning, raising more than £8 million.

Since it was launched in 1991, the event has prompted several unusual record attempts, including the highest coffee morning, held on a jet fighter in 2004, and the most distant coffee morning – a get together in Antarctica in 2002.

The coffee mornings raise vital funds for Macmillan, which provides more than 3,500 specialist nurses across the UK, both in hospitals and the community.

The charity also provides practical, emotional and financial support for patients, their family and friends.

Eniko Benfield (pictured), a Macmillan nurse based at the Kent Oncology Centre at Maidstone Hospital, said: "The World's Biggest Coffee Morning is a real highlight of the year for us.

"It always amazes me just how committed the local community is improving the lives of people affected by cancer.

"This isn't just a fundraising event, it also brings people together. Each one of us is affected by cancer in some way, so we're all involved in the fight against it."

An estimated two million people in the UK are living with cancer, with 310,000 diagnosed every year. One in three people will get cancer at some point in their lives.