THE small Exmoor village of Timberscombe has no war memorial but that won’t prevent it commemorating Remembrance Sunday in colourful style - thanks to more than 7,000 knitted poppies made by retired couple John and Phyllis Goodall and displayed on a fence near their home to the surprise and pleasure of passers-by.

"They cause a lot of comment and people stop in their cars to take pictures," 82-year-old John said. "Drive through Timberscombe, and you just can’t miss them!"

The couple, who live in sheltered accommodation at Orchard Bungalows, are happy to be involved in the village’s social life. John, a former chief executive in a catering business, is chairman of the village’s Orchard Social Club which caters for elderly residents, and Phyllis produces baby blankets and other knitted articles for hospitals and other good causes.

"She’s an absolute champion knitter," said her husband proudly. "She loves doing it and even produced some knitted wine bottle covers for a Christmas raffle."

Phyllis and her friend Valerie Sharpe first had the idea of knitting colourful Remembrance Day poppies ten years ago. As John explained: "The church had a remembrance service but there was not really anywhere poppies could be displayed."

Over the years, the home-knit poppies have grown dramatically in number and this year have reached more than 7,000. When Valerie died two years ago, Phyllis continued to knit the centres and petals which made up the poppies, and found a new willing helper when it came to sewing them into flowers - her husband!

Phyllis suffers from arthritis in her back and legs but her skill and enthusiasm for knitting is undiminished, and this year she and John have added another 500 poppies to the collection.

"At first I was very slow but Phyllis was a very good teacher and now I can sew a knitted poppy together in not much more than a minute," John said.

The mammoth task of displaying the thousands of poppies on netting attached to the fencing is taken on by a neighbour, Phyllis Dyer, who completed the display outside her house last week and also lends a hand creating the poppies.

The poppies will stay on show until week after Remembrance Sunday and have already become a visitor attraction in the area. John and Phyllis keep an eye on the display and replace any which get damaged by the winter weather.

"We are delighted to do our bit to show that Timberscombe regards Remembrance Sunday as a very special day," John said.

THE small Exmoor village of Timberscombe has no war memorial but that won’t prevent it commemorating Remembrance Sunday in colourful style - thanks to more than 7,000 knitted poppies made by retired couple John and Phyllis Goodall and displayed on a fence near their home to the surprise and pleasure of passers-by.

"They cause a lot of comment and people stop in their cars to take pictures," 82-year-old John said. "Drive through Timberscombe, and you just can’t miss them!"

The couple, who live in sheltered accommodation at Orchard Bungalows, are happy to be involved in the village’s social life. John, a former chief executive in a catering business, is chairman of the village’s Orchard Social Club which caters for elderly residents, and Phyllis produces baby blankets and other knitted articles for hospitals and other good causes.

"She’s an absolute champion knitter," said her husband proudly. "She loves doing it and even produced some knitted wine bottle covers for a Christmas raffle."

Phyllis and her friend Valerie Sharpe first had the idea of knitting colourful Remembrance Day poppies ten years ago. As John explained: "The church had a remembrance service but there was not really anywhere poppies could be displayed."

Over the years, the home-knit poppies have grown dramatically in number and this year have reached more than 7,000. When Valerie died two years ago, Phyllis continued to knit the centres and petals which made up the poppies, and found a new willing helper when it came to sewing them into flowers - her husband!

Phyllis suffers from arthritis in her back and legs but her skill and enthusiasm for knitting is undiminished, and this year she and John have added another 500 poppies to the collection.

"At first I was very slow but Phyllis was a very good teacher and now I can sew a knitted poppy together in not much more than a minute," John said.

The mammoth task of displaying the thousands of poppies on netting attached to the fencing is taken on by a neighbour, Phyllis Dyer, who completed the display outside her house last week and also lends a hand creating the poppies.

The poppies will stay on show until week after Remembrance Sunday and have already become a visitor attraction in the area. John and Phyllis keep an eye on the display and replace any which get damaged by the winter weather.

"We are delighted to do our bit to show that Timberscombe regards Remembrance Sunday as a very special day," John said.