Two families have worked together to bring the Olympic rings to Much Wenlock in a permanent tribute to its most famous son William Penny Brookes.

The Motley family, which owns the land near Wenlock Abbey, and the Hill family, which has farmed the land for the past 75 years, teamed up to grow the Olympic rings by planting a hedge.

And as the beech plants have started to grow, the tribute to the father of the modern Olympics has become clear, attracting compliments and comments from visitors.

Arthur Hill, who came up with the idea, said he was delighted with how well it had turned out.

“William Penny Brookes inspired the idea with the Olympian connection with Wenlock,” he said. “We thought we’d like to make a permanent memorial to the Olympics and its connection with the town.

“It didn’t take long to do – about three or four days.

“It will take about four years to grow into a hedge but we’ll keep working at it all the time.

“We couldn’t have done it without the support of the Motleys, who own Wenlock Estate.”