Waterside Poppy Makers spent three months knitting thousands of poppies

Thousands of people have flocked to the Tower of London to view the 888,246 ceramic poppies that have turned the former moat into a sea of red.

Now a group of Hampshire women are about to unveil their own spectacular tribute to the dead of the First World War.

After vowing to knit or crochet as many poppies as possible, they have exceeded their wildest dreams.

More than 4,000 will be attached to the railings at Prospect Place in Hythe on Sunday in the hours leading up to the Remembrance Service.

They will then be sold, raising hundreds or even thousands of pounds for the Royal British Legion.

Members of the recently-formed Waterside Poppy Makers have spent the past three months making poppies whenever they had a spare moment, often knitting into the early hours to complete the unique project.

The 50 women have put in 2,000 hours of craft work and are thought to have got through at least eight kilograms of wool.

Some knitted alone while others met in each other’s homes and in one case a beach hut.

They set themselves an initial goal of 250 poppies but repeatedly raised their target and have made enough to cover about 100ft of railings.

A spokesman for the group said total strangers became firm friends as the weeks went by and number of poppies continued to grow.

She added: “We appealed for donations of wool but a lot of members provided some themselves.

“Each poppy took me about half-an-hour. One night I looked at the clock and it was 4am, which made me think it was time to stop.

“We’re down going to Prospect Place at the crack of dawn on Sunday to attach the poppies to the railings.

“It’s going to look fabulous and I’m sure we’ll all feel a tremendous sense of achievement. I just hope people do what we’d like them to do and remember all those who gave their lives for their country.”

The women were inspired by a magazine article about a group in Folkestone, Kent, who decorated a road with knitted poppies as an act of remembrance.

Hythe and Dibden Parish Council gave them permission to attach poppies to the railings at Prospect Green.

Helen Owers, parish development officer, said: “Throughout the summer the poppy makers knitted and crocheted, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups and even teaching people who have never knitted or crocheted before.

“As a personal act of remembrance each one has given a single poppy for a wreath that will be laid during the service.”