Shropshire prisoners create more than 200 handmade poppies for Remembrance commemorations

Inmates at a Shropshire prison have created hundreds of wooden poppies for a town’s Remembrance commemorations.

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More than 200 handmade poppies were created by prisoners at HMP Stoke Heath, which are to be displayed at Market Drayton's Remembrance service next month.

The Shropshire prison, near Market Drayton, has worked with the local community on a number of previous projects, supporting organisations including the Lingen Davies Cancer Fund and Market Drayton Town Council's biodiversity plan.

For its latest project, prisoners used waste and scrap materials from several workshops at HMP Stoke Heath to design and manufacture more than 200 wooden poppies.

The poppies were donated to Market Drayton Town Council, which distributed them throughout the community to be individually decorated ahead of the town's Remembrance Day service.

Care homes and community groups, including the Scouts and Guides and Brownies, have been involved, giving people of different generations the opportunity to contribute to the project.

Once decorated, the poppies will be brought together and displayed in the town as part of the Remembrance commemorations. Market Drayton Town Council has also made a donation on behalf of HMP Stoke Heath to the Market Drayton Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

Ian Harvey, Industries Manager at HMP Stoke Heath, said: “Prisons are often portrayed in a negative light, so opportunities like this allow us to show some of the positive work, ideas and skills taking place within our workshops.“The prisoners involved take an enormous amount of pride in being able to give something back. Seeing their work leave the prison and become something that brings different parts of the community together is incredibly rewarding for everyone involved.”

Councillor Ian Nellins, Chairman of the Community and Governance Committee, added: “During recent years Market Drayton Town Council has decorated areas of the town with Poppys, silhouettes and flags to demonstrate the towns commitment to Remembrance and to support for our Armed Forces and Veterans community.

“The wooden poppies made by HMP Stoke Heath will make a great addition to the display, while also helping to inform and educate the children and youth organisations who will be decorating the poppies, about the importance of remembrance”.

The finished poppies will be on display during Market Drayton's Remembrance Day service on November 8.