TWO Maryport businesses have built a new "poppy boat" and are offering residents the chance to remember loved and raise money for charity at the same time.

Syd and Mary Wood, of Maryport Car Centre, offered a £300 reward for the return of a town council boat which was erected on the Glasson estate roundabout, near where they do business.

The boat was adorned with poppies in remembrance of all who had died in conflict. Within less than a week of being erected the boat was stolen.

When it was not recovered, Mr and Mrs Wood along with Richard Stamper of R stamper Services in Maryport decided to put the money towards building a new boat.

The boat is now ready and residents are being asked to donate £10 to have their loved ones remembered on it.

High spec stickers will be added to the boat with the name of a loved one along with their birth and death dates.

The money raised through this will be shared between the Poppy Appeal and the North West Air Ambulance, Mrs Wood said.

"We will need names by next Friday (October 27) because we have to order the plaques and we want the boat up on the roundabout before November 11, Remembrance Day," she said.

Anyone wishing to dedicate a panel to a loved one can call in at Maryport Car Centre opposity the recycling centre on the Glasson Estate.