A LEGAL firm has received high praise after helping to rake in more than £2million for cancer research through gifts left in wills.

Pleass Thomson and Co Solicitors was presented with a gold certificate by Cancer Research UK for helping to facilitate the huge sum.

The firm has offered a free will service to people aged 55 and over in Clacton for the past seven years.

As part of the offer, solicitors give guidance for those wishing to leave a gift for cancer research.

The charity receives no government funding for its work and relies on the generosity of people leaving donations in their wills.

A third of its research into prevention, diagnosis and treatment is funded through supporters leaving a legacy behind.

Clare Moore, director of legacies at Cancer Research UK, called the £2.3million of donations “astonishing”.

“The service has grown in popularity over the past couple of years and while it is provided free of any obligation, the vast majority of people choose to kindly leave a gift to the charity,” she said.

“By offering this service, Pleass Thomson and Co has become well informed about our work and very supportive of our life-saving research.

“Whenever their clients express a desire to support us, staff act with great sensitivity as they explain the various options and allow individuals or families to make the right choice in their own good time.

“It’s quite astonishing to think that by simply combining enthusiasm with the highest professional standards Pleass Thomson has helped secure over £2.3 million worth of legacy gifts, which will go a long way towards helping our scientists, doctors and nurses to beat cancer sooner.”

The free will service has been running for more than 20 years across a network of UK solicitors.