Crocus bulbs will provide blaze of purple colour to raise awareness of polio campaign

Thousands of crocus bulbs have been planted by members of the Rotary Club of St Neots as part of the organisation’s campaign to help eradicate polio.

Huntingdon MP Jonathan Djanogoly, St Neots mayor Councillor Derek Giles, mayoress Sandie Giles, club president Gordon Thorpe and rotary members planted the purple crocus bulbs at the Parish Church of St Mary’s in support of a nationwide initiative called Purple4Polio.

The campaign, which was launched by Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland is encouraging people to join together in the final push to rid the world of polio.

There have been promising steps, with just 27 cases of polio recorded this year. Rotary, who launched the campaign more than 30 years ago, is determined to raise awareness and funds to finish the job.

Gordon Thorpe said: “As a club we have worked tirelessly to ensure that polio is eradicated for good, and with fewer cases being reported we believe we can end this deadly disease forever. This has been the goal for 30 years and we’re determined to make this a reality.”

The colour purple has been chosen as it represents the colour of the dye which is placed on the little finger of a child on mass immunisation days when millions of children in entire countries are protected against the disease.

The amount of polio-endemic countries has dropped from 125 to just three, with more than 2.5 billion children receiving vaccinations , thanks to the help of rotary.

INFO: visit www.rotarygbi.org for details of the Purple4Polio campaign.