HUNDREDS of people came to a Basingstoke hospice to plant wooden sunflowers in memory of loved ones.

A special Sunflower Fete was held in the grounds of St Michael’s Hospice, in Aldermaston Road, last Sunday, to mark its 20th anniversary.

Councillor Martin Biermann, Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane, officially opened the fete before hospice chaplain Angie Watts said a short prayer. Visitors then looked up to the skies to catch a glimpse of a flypast by an RAF Hawk jet.

More than 300 people paid to plant a wooden sunflower, with personal messages for lost loved ones, in one of four raised beds. The sunflowers will remain on display until the end of June.

Iris Nicholls, 67, of Snowdrop Close, Kempshott, planted a sunflower in memory of her friend Tony Hughes, who died from cancer last year.

She said: “It’s a lovely idea, and it’s for a worthwhile cause.”

Iain Cameron, director of income generation at the hospice, said: “This is the first year we have done this. and the response has been overwhelming.

“We have already raised more than £5,000 through donations, and people have been very generous. We did not know just how successful the idea was going to be.”

Attractions at the event included wet sponge-throwing, splat-the-rat, a barbecue and face painting. There were also performances from Basingstoke Wolverines and the Basing Clog Morris Dancers.

The hospice, which opened in 1992, has to raise £2.7million a year from its shops, fundraising and donations to help keep on running.