It attracted a bus of people to Dorchester, brought tears to people's eyes and raised more than £1,300 so far - we caught up with the woman behind the beautiful poppy installation in Monmouth Road.

Fiona Hooper didn't think she would get this response when she created hundreds of poppies out of the bottom of bottles and hung them out of her top window.

She got a lot of attention for her poppy installation, with the story appearing in national newspapers, online and radio, including the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) Radio.

And as a consequence, she has been flooded with donations, raising more than £1,300 for the Air Force Benevolent Fund.

Fiona said: "I started off with a Just Giving target of £200, then I changed it to £400 and I think it's on £500 and gift aid has really helped as well - I've had about £300 through the door.

"I had one man who used to live in Dorchester, ex-RAF, who now lives away but he saw it and wanted to give, and I've had an elderly gentleman who banged on the door to give his donation and started to cry because he said it was lovely, so I shut the door and had a good sob myself. It's made it all worth it."

As well as attracting lots of donations, the installation has also attracted a number of visitors.

"I was doing work in my dining room, which is the room behind them, and it was nice to sit there and listen to people's conversations," she added.

"A group of school kids went by, little kids, and they stopped and looked and my partner rang me up to tell me there was a small bus outside and people got out to look - it's not on a main street."

Fiona also wrote a poem and put it in the window next to the poppies.

She said: "I have always written poetry. My very first poem I had read out on Radio 1 in 1986 by Mike Read and I've always dabbled in poetry. I tend to write it in one go."

It's a cause close to her heart as her dad was in the Air Force, her uncle was a marine and both grandfathers were in the navy, with her mum's dad serving with Lord Mountbatten.

Fiona added: "He [her dad] came out of the air force when I was four, I remember a couple of places we lived but I don't remember him being in uniform, I don't remember him being in the Air Force, but it's obviously been a big impact on my life. I have a love of planes, I have an aeroplane tattoo and I go to air shows every year.

"I wish that I was a live when they were serving, whether I would have the same feelings about it I don't know, but it's impacted me greatly.

"If I had my life over, I think I might try and join the RAF and fly a Hercules. It's on my bucket list to go up in a Hercules."

She will be continuing to raise money for the Air Force Benevolent fund with homemade Vulcan biscuits, which she sells at air shows, and managed to raise £400, and she is already planning something for next year's Remembrance Day.

Fiona would like to say thank you to everyone who has donated and supported the cause and all the press picking up the story.

She said: "Everybody has been amazing, the response I've had from neighbours, people in the town, everybody has been really kind.

"I've had donations from all around the country, I've had donations from America, which were friends, but one was quite generous and said, 'from one military family to another'.

"People have been amazing, I had no idea when id did it that I was going for £200 and now I've got £1,300 and counting."

The poppies will be up until Sunday and donations can still be made at justgiving.com

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