A WOMAN who lost family members during the two world wars has seen her idea to commemorate Crewkerne's war dead in a new way come to fruition.

Sandra Laird, 63, of Langmead Square, came up with the idea to add plaques representing military conflicts on 13 wooden pillars, which now line the road towards the Severalls Park War Memorial.

The plaques record conflicts since the Second World War, from Palestine to Afghanistan and are fixed to the bollards whose main purpose is to deter parking.

The town council is appealing for drivers not to park at the sides of the road as a mark of respect.

Mrs Laird said: "I had relatives in the wars. My uncle George went missing in France during the Second World War and his body was never found.

"Another relative on my mother's side was killed during the First World War.

"When I first heard the council was going to put the posts in to try and prevent parking, I came up with the idea to inscribe them.

"I wanted originally to have the names of every fallen Crewkerne soldier recognised, but to do that we would have had to put stones in and use three sides of them and it would have been too expensive.

"I never thought my idea would come to fruition, but I'm thrilled it has.

"I hope the people of Crewkerne like this and that the bollards are treated with the respect they deserve."

Severalls Park Avenue is an area of Crewkerne steeped in memorial history. In addition to the war memorial at its centre, the trees in the area, one for each fallen soldier from the town, were planted in the 1920s after the First World War ended.

The houses were built to accommodate the families of the soldiers who fought.

Crewkerne Royal British Legion chairman Gary Pennells said: "It is immensely important to remember those who have died for us in war.

"These 13 pillars represent the thousands of lives lost over the years and we must recognise that."