Norwich City’s players brought some festive cheer to the young patients and staff at the James Paget hospital in Gorleston on Tuesday.

Men’s first team trio Emi Marcondes, Oscar Schwartau and Ben Chrisene together with Norwich City Women’s duo Hope Strauss and Liv Cook toured the children’s and neonatal wards.

The quintet handed out presents and posed for pictures and chatted with children and staff, along with appearing in some impromptu video calls to excited City fans.

For teenage forward Cook it proved an extra-special occasion.

“Being local and being born here I am very grateful to be able to give back to the community,” she said. “Obviously, as a little girl, it would have been my dream to have football players come and visit me, so to be able to do that is really great.

"I think Norwich as a whole, especially the men's and women's teams now doing things together, shows what a community club this is. It's really great to see everyone coming together to give back. As players that is what makes us all happy.”

Danish attacker Marcondes labelled his visit a ‘privilege’.

“It is a very heart-warming and it's just a great feeling to be able to give a smile to some children and some people that are working here as well,” he said. “To live that day and be here for a few hours, and hopefully in some small way make a difference, is very heart-warming. It's an amazing feeling.

"When you start playing football, or when I started football, those are the things you think about, to be able to be in a position where you can do things for other people. That's why I play still today.

“To be able to come here and be in a position where we can do this I feel very privileged. I can really feel that sense of community now being in the city for a little bit over two months.

"There's different events going on around the club all the time, and I think that's what a club can do, and what football can do, which is bring people together and try to put a smile on people's faces and make people feel a part of something.

“Life is not easy and to be able to be a part of that in some small way, and to bring people together, there's not a better feeling than that.”