GIANT poppies are being put up around Horwich to prepare for Remembrance Day.

Volunteers have been placing the poppies on lamp-posts, as in previous years.

Around 350 have been put up, representing the number from the town who died in the First World War.

Town councillor and chair of the Royal British Legion in Horwich, Craig Rotheram, said: “We’ve been doing it since 2017 as a visible symbol of remembrance but they are even more important to us this year.

“It’s got a fantastic response from the schools this year which is great to see. There’s been a massive number of children donating.

“This year with coronavirus it’s been hard to raise money how we would normally, collecting outside shops and other ways, as a lot of our volunteers are high-risk. So the lamp-post poppies are especially important ­- last year we raised over £41,000.

“But we’re very lucky in Horwich to have a very good community spirit so everyone gets behind our lamp-post poppies.

“The parades that would usually be very well attended in Horwich have also had to be cancelled so we hope the poppies will still help people remember those who lost their lives in the First World War.

“The poppies which adorn the lamp-posts symbolise the individual sacrifice made by hundreds of servicemen from Horwich who gave their lives in both wars.”