Thousands of flowers planted in Banbury's People’s Park to recognise global battle against polio

Members of the Banbury Rotary Club, along with the town council and students from Banbury and Bicester College, planted more than 16,000 crocus bulbs in the park.

The flowers will make up a large carpet of purple petals when the thousands of bulbs burst into life next spring, to mark the ‘Purple for Polio’ campaign.

Rotary clubs across the country have been supporting the global polio eradication campaign since 1987 and have helped to wipe out the virus in all but two countries.

Banbury club president John Groves said: “Purple is the colour of the dye used in developing countries to mark the fingers of those who have been vaccinated, and it has been adopted as the colour of the ongoing campaign.

"Rotary clubs are working with their communities to plant purple crocuses this autumn, and thanks to the town council, we are able to use the magnificent People’s Park to highlight this crucial campaign that is doing so much to rid the world of this terrible disease.

“The project has helped many countries become polio-free, though there is still cause for concern in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

Cllr Martin Phillips, chairman of the council’s general services committee, said: “It publicises an extremely important issue. While this country has been polio-free for more than 40 years, other countries are not so fortunate. This purple carpet will send a strong message that people are working to eradicate the disease and to make sure it doesn’t return.”