A patriotic Briton has taken matters into his own hands, creating his own poppy displays after noticing a lack of the commemorative flowers in his area.
Jason Toon crafted a series of wooden poppies for the Derbyshire village of Littleover, one year after he created a series of cardboard displays for the community.
Mr Toon said he made the array of poppies to make sure the significance of Remembrance is not lost.
It comes after residents in Blagreaves and Littleover were angered last year by what they saw as a lack of poppies in their communities.
Jason Toon crafted a series of wooden poppies for the Derbyshire town of Littleover
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Local councillors hit back, saying health and safety concerns were to blame for the lack of flowers honouring Britain’s fallen heroes.
This year has seen more poppies go up than in 2024, with the Greener Littleover group leading the effort around schools and churches.
But residents say the heart of Littleover, near the shopping precinct, has once again been left bare.
Derby Civic Society chairman Ashley Waterhouse helped the patriotic Briton put up the homemade poppies up across Littleover.
Residents say the heart of Littleover has once again been left bare
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Mr Waterhouse said: “”Once again, Mr Jason Toon, who has been instrumental in supporting community Remembrance efforts.
“He has taken it upon himself to craft wooden poppies at his own expense and in his own time to ensure the village is represented.”
Littleover ward’s Councillor Lucy Care said: “I heard that near churches and schools were deemed important by some people and, indeed, areas around these have significantly more poppies than previously.
“Given that there is a finite budget, finite poppies and volunteer time available, if new areas are to be given a higher priority, other areas may have fewer.”
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Mr Toon said: “Last year I made temporary poppies in response to there being not enough.
“This year I made them from wood.
“I just want to pay respect to fallen soldiers, and next year I would like to see more put up in the first place.”
It comes just days after GB News host Ellie Costello saying that she saw a worrying amount of Britons not wearing poppies ahead of London Poppy Day.
Mr Toon said he would like to see more poppies put up in his community next year
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PASpeaking to Breakfast co-host Stephen Dixon, Ellie recalled walking through Liverpool Street Station and seeing “no one buying a poppy”, before realising that “no one was wearing a poppy either”.
According to a YouGov poll published on Wednesday, less than a third (32 per cent) of Britons reported to have started wearing a poppy just days ahead of Remembrance Day.
It also showed that 32 per cent had not bought one but intend to do so and 31 per cent reported that they had not bought a poppy and had no intention of doing so.
The survey asked 6,436 Britons aged 16 and over.