Unique blue poppies have returned to an estate near Keswick thanks to a five-year project to reintroduce them.

And people will soon be able to buy them for their own gardens.

Back in the 1980s Meconopsis Lingholm causes a stir in the horticultural world when the then head garden of the Lingholm Estate, Mike Swift, discovered a strain of blue poppy that was fertile.

Until then it was believed that all blue poppies were sterile.

After the estate was closed to the public in the 1990s, the Lingholm poppy died out there, but Mike took plants from the original strain with him when he left for a new job in Scotland.

In 2014, he was able to re-introduce the colourful bloom with a handful of plants.

Mike has been succeeded as head gardener by his son Ken, who this year planted more than 500 blue poppies across the estate.

Ken said: “I was born on the estate and remember these vivid flowers from my childhood. It has been a real labour of love get them thriving again, but we wanted to get them growing all over the estate and make a big impact for visitors.

“Meconopsis Lingholm prefer woodland cover and good shade, but they are so bright and easy to spot. It’s been a pleasure to bring this special flower back to its original home and continue the gardening legacy my dad created.”

This year for the first time, visitors to the Lingholm Kitchen and Walled Garden will be able to buy Lingholm blue poppy plants descended from the original strain.

Young plants will be on sale from early April.