Chopper posters recall spirit of town's dam crisis

The RAF Chinook helicopter was used to drop bags of aggregate on to the damaged slipway

A colourful picture of a Chinook helicopter has become an unofficial symbol for a town that avoided catastrophic flooding.

The RAF used the twin-rotor aircraft to drop bags of aggregate on to the slipway of a damaged reservoir dam, which threatened to give way in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, in 2019.

More than 1,000 homes were evacuated as fire crews battled to pump water from Toddbrook Reservoir before relieved residents were allowed to return after days of worry.

Now residents and shopkeepers have started displaying posters featuring the Chinook image to recall and celebrate the way the community pulled together during the crisis.

Councillor Ruth George hopes the image will unite people in the town

Since the start of October, the bright picture has started being displayed in shops, offices and pubs along Whaley Bridge's high street.

Vanessa Thorpe, who runs Goyt Wines, was one of the first to put it in her window.

"I love it, it's difficult to find something that everybody wants to share that means something to everyone on the same level," she said.

"You instantly get taken back to that moment when we were pulling together, so getting all the shops on board with one common symbol representing Whaley Bridge is great."

The Chinook image has appeared in the windows of shops, offices and pubs

Maggie Nolan, who runs a sweet shop in a caravan nearby, also displays the poster with pride.

"I think the reaction has been absolutely incredible," she said.

"I raced out to get one of these posters - we didn't know where to get one so someone took it upon themselves to make extra copies and I managed to get the last one."

Maggie Nolan is proud to display the poster

Independent county councillor Ruth George said the displays were partly inspired by concerns over St George and union jack flags being put up in the town as part of the national Operation Raise The Colours campaign.

She said: "People can feel that our society is becoming more divided, but just the very fact that our local businesses and individuals are putting the posters up says to everyone we are a nice welcoming community."

The artist who designed the poster has requested to keep her identity a secret but revealed her inspiration to the BBC.

"I decided to create a new symbol of hope that is unique to Whaley Bridge," she said.

"It's a symbol of what the town was so rightly proud of in 2019, with new meaning in 2025, a year where we have needed unity and hope to speak more loudly than symbols of division."

Shop owner Lisa Wharmby says the town has faced a series of disruptions

Lisa Wharmby opened her raw pet food store, Raw Pawz, a year before rising water levels at the reservoir put the town at risk.

Like many others, she is displaying the colourful poster with pride, glad that a series of disruptions are finally drawing to a close.

"We've had everything, we nearly had the dam bursting which caused lots of problems for the shops," she said.

"We've had Long Hill closed, we've had the railway bridge closed for a while.

"We've had lots of things thrown at us - but we just keep plodding on and we're here to serve the community."