Purple crocuses planted by Ashby Hastings Rotarians with help from The Friends of the Bath Grounds are now coming into bloom in support of an important cause.

The Ashby Hastings Rotary Club planted the blooms – which are the symbol of Rotary International's fight to eradicate polio throughout the world – alongside a footpath on the eastern edge of the Bath Grounds.

"Many of us of a 'certain age' will remember when we had Polio in this country and how many had to spend their lives in 'Iron Lungs'," said John Bate of the Ashby Hastings Rotary Club - one of three Rotary Clubs in Ashby.

"It wasn't until the UK and the Western World embarked on its own immunisation programme that it was eradicated for us."

The purple crocuses, planted in the Bath Grounds, now serve as a reminder for people to get a Polio vaccination, and that many parts of the world are still unprotected from the illness.

Mr Bate added that there remains a "need to redouble efforts to help Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria to retain strong immunisation coverage and hopefully to rid the world of this highly infectious and disabling disease."

An Information Board in the midst of the crocuses gives greater detail of these worldwide efforts and what Rotary has achieved.

Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of five.

The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water.

It can then attack the nervous system.

Currently, the world is 99.9 per cent free of polio after 30 years of work between the Rotary Club, the United Nations and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has pledged to match Rotary's donations $2-1. So far, they have donated over $350 million.

Yet cases are still reported every year by the World Health Organisation.

The Ashby Rotary Clubs are now inviting individuals interested in helping their local and international communities to become people of action.

To find out more, contact Paul Bertenshaw on 07905 848981.

You can also contact him via email at [email protected] or see the club's Facebook page: Rotary Club of Ashby de la Zouch Hastings.