Devizes residents are being offered to plant a cross for hope this Easter. The organiser of the event which will see The Little Green transformed believes this year most will be planted with a prayer for Ukraine.

On Good Friday and Easter Saturday between 9am and 6pm, anyone can come to the grassland near Devizes School and place one of the crosses and hearts that will be provided into the ground, writing a name or message. The area will then be transformed into a landscape of hundreds of crosses and hearts.

Another transformation will then happen early on Easter Sunday, when a posy of flowers will be attached to each cross and heart, centred on a large floral display on a cross. On Easter Sunday and Monday, The Little Green will be a magnificent and colourful landscape of flowers for all to come and see.

“For Christians and all others it signifies the hope that better things will prevail,” said the Rev. Keith Brindle, of St. James’s Church, who is coordinating the mass planting of the crosses.

He added: “It’s an opportunity for the community to make a mark at a time when so many are struggling with so much, be it the loss of a loved one through Covid, or the loss of a job or the soaring cost of living.

"But I suspect that this year many will plant a cross with Ukraine in their minds.”