A GROUP of keen knitters and crafty people at a set of offices have brightened up their reception- while raising money.

Following on from an idea to help out at a church, staff at Grove House, owned by Absolutely Offices, have set their knitting needles clicking furiously as they made several wreathes out of knitted poppies.

After managing director Beryl Huntingdon was given the pattern to help out for St James Church, Bramley’s poppy wall, which needed over 1,000 knitted and crocheted poppies, she got started and then got her staff involved.

So far, they have contributed more than 300 poppies to the cause.

However, once they started displaying the wreathes at the office, people started to enquire about buying them and since they have been raising money for the Royal British Legion.

Also available are purple poppies, which are dedicated to the animals that were killed in the world wars.

Beryl said: “It is good to think outside the box and we decided to make some purple poppies after my daughter helped to organise a ploughing competition and first heard of the purple poppy.”