Remembrance poppies taken down for tree planting

The knitted poppies adorned trees on an estate located on the site of a former military hospital

A woman who helped knit Remembrance poppies that decorated a neighbourhood has described as "disrespectful" their removal to make way for new trees to be planted.

Kirsty and her aunt spent nearly a month crocheting the items which they put on trees on the Poppy Fields estate in Maghull, Merseyside, located on the site of the first specialist hospital to treat World War One soldiers who had shellshock.

She said residents suggested they should stay up and she was "angry" at their removal by workmen on Monday when the trees were uprooted before saplings were planted.

A spokesperson for developers Persimmon North West said it had "worked proactively with all parties to resolve the situation".

'No forward thinking'

Kirsty said: "There's no difference to destroying a poppy wreath on a memorial.

"Everyone knows what they signify, even children.

"It took so many hours and late nights but, above all, I'm angry as it's disrespectful."

The knitted poppies have now been returned after she posted about what had happened on a local Facebook forum and town councillor David Leatherbarrow, who lives on the estate, contacted the contractors involved in the removal.

He said: "I don't blame the contractors - the whole pattern is the developers [Persimmons] not communicating with the residents."

The poppies were removed with the trees when new saplings were planted

He said the knitted poppies, which included purple items that commemorate the service of animals in wartime, were about to be thrown away until he asked for their return.

"There was no forward thinking [about] the fact it's in a place with massive emphasis on the war wounded," he said.

He added that it was the "final straw" following residents' concerns about Persimmons' management of the estate, including a nearby lake which has partly dried up.

It had been used for therapeutic purposes for soldiers treated at the former Moss Side Hospital which closed as a military hospital in 1933.

"Once we were made aware that a contractor had removed poppies from trees on land owned by Persimmon to enable essential landscaping works, we worked proactively with all parties to resolve the situation swiftly," a Persimmon North West spokesperson said.

"We would like to thank the local councillors for their help in ensuring the poppies were returned to their owner without delay."