Knitters create 92ft poppy banner for church

Meg Richards' mum, dad and father-in-law all served in World War Two

Volunteers have knitted 10,000 poppies for a striking display cascading down a church tower in Droitwich.

The 92ft (28m) banner on St Augustine's Church has been created to mark Remembrance Day.

It is the work of the local Knit & Natter group, whose members began work in January.

Several of the people in the group have connections to veterans, which made the experience more poignant for them - including Meg Richards, whose mum, dad, and father-in-law served in the RAF in World War Two.

"They didn't win great medals, they didn't go into big battles, but they were part of the huge number of people who did such a lot to make our lives the way they are," she said.

"Without people like my family, what sort of life would we have now? And they'll never be remembered in anything else.

"There are three special poppies for me in that banner."

The banner contains about 10,000 knitted poppies

The group meets every Monday at The Crafty Cafe, and work began almost 11 months ago.

Mrs Richards said she ended up making 1,001 knitted poppies for the banner.

"I started on January 14th and finished on July 14th - I knitted in the car as we were going on holiday, knitted on a beach, nearly drove my husband mad with bits of wool," she said.

"It just grew like topsy and I ended up with 10,000 poppies in my house, and the net that was used to put it up."

She said she ended up using about 22 100g balls of wool, and the knitting became routine.

"It was for those three special people, I just carried on," she added.

Joanne Webb's husband is a veteran

It is not just this project for Remembrance Day that is linked to veterans - The Crafty Cafe was born from an understanding that crafts like knitting could have a huge impact on people's mental health and wellbeing.

Owner Joanne Webb's husband is a veteran, and has PTSD - she said when he was diagnosed about a decade ago, there was not a lot of help.

After doing a creativity program with charity Combat Stress, Mrs Webb began doing easy crafts and workshops, before moving to Droitwich two-and-a-half years ago, leaving the NHS to open the cafe.

"Even though he doesn't really talk about his service... you can see it, the effect that it's had on him - from night terrors, to hypervigilance, to not being here, and we're on this rocky rollercoaster all the time," she said.

Her husband uses the space to meet with a support group.

"They've done their own war gaming, they all sit there painting models, another great way to help their mindset," Mrs Webb added.