Edith Cavell WW1 poppy blanket by Peterborough artist

Edith Cavell was shot by a German firing squad in 1915

An artist is looking for help to create a blanket of hand-crafted felt poppies to honour a World War One nurse.

Edith Cavell was born in Norwich and studied briefly in Peterborough. She was shot by the Germans in 1915 for helping Allies escape from Belgium.

Artist Charron Pugsley-Hill wants 49 women contribute a poppy, one for each year of Cavell's life.

The artwork will be shown during October's commemorations marking 100 years since the nurse's death.

Born in 1865, Edith Cavell was the daughter of a Norfolk vicar.

Poppies made by volunteers at the artists's first workshop

At the outbreak of World War One, she worked as a nurse in German-occupied Belgium, helping save the lives of soldiers from both sides.

'Inspirational story'

She was shot by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers to escape across the border into the Netherlands.

Pugsley-Hill intends her blanket - one of a number of Cavell-inspired works she is creating - to form part of the celebrations of the nurse's life in October.

Swirls of felt will make up a map of the UK complete with quotes from and about Edith Cavell

The centrepiece, which she has already started, is a map of the UK, marking both Norwich and Peterborough, as well as a map of Belgium.

Mrs Pugsley-Hill says she hopes the "beautiful colourful piece will connect people with Edith Cavell's inspirational story which currently feels as if it has been lost as time has gone by".