Ambitious plan to place a poppy on the graves of fallen soldiers

A village in Bedfordshire has launched an ambitious project to place a poppy on the graves of every serviceman listed on its war memorial.

People living in Arlesey, near Letchworth, want to individually honour each soldier lost during the First World War ahead of this year's Remembrance Day.

This August will mark the centenary of the break-out of The Great War.

In total, 87 men from Arlesey died during the hostilities.

Town councillor Duncan said the village was determined to do something to remember them.

Ten of the graves are in Arlesey's St Peter's Church but the rest are scattered across the world in 46 other cemeteries.

They include sites in France, Belgium, Turkey, Iraq and Israel.

Villagers raised £2,000 from 65 donors in just four days following a crowd-funding plea to help fund the project.

They are now looking for volunteers to travel around the world to the cemeteries to place the poppy crosses on the graves and are also hoping to trace relatives of the fallen soldiers.

The community's efforts will be filmed and it is hoped the footage can be used in a documentary which will be available on a website and DVD.