Inspired to be part of Rotary’s End Polio Now initiative across the world, 10 members from Newton Abbot Rotary and two Friends of Rotary braved the heavy rain and planted 7,000 purple crocus bulbs along the Avenue in Newton Abbot.

The Global Polio Eradication partnership which includes Rotary, World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and more recently Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Vaccine Alliance are all part of the global initiative and aim to bring the world together on October 24 each year and plant crocus bulbs together.

Despite they’re only being a handful of polio cases left in the world continued health worker training and vaccination programmes are essential to stop the disease returning.

The crocus bulbs each Rotary Club across the country buy supports the training and vaccinations in third world countries.

‘Rotary In Action’ and yes Teddy did help.