Hastings and Rother Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) have rocketed their way into the record books after knitting a whopping 25.68 mile long scarf!
The monster scarf is made up of 640 million stitches. If laid down flat it would stretch from West St Leonards to Lewes or would cover two full size football pitches completely! Knitting the scarf was the idea of WRVS press officer Penny O'Brien in 1995. When it was discovered that the Women's Institute was also making the attempt, the two charities pooled their knitting efforts to create the record-breaking scarf.
A local removal firm then transported the scarf up to Durham in pieces, then stitched together and measured at Urshaw College with both WRVS and the WI present.
The huge scarf is now being made into 2,500 blankets at the young offenders prison in County Durham. Two hundred of the blankets have already been sent to Romania and charities and the rest will be distributed around other UK charities.
Now WRVS and the WI are waiting to be entered into the Guinness Book of Records. Penny O'Brien, said:
"The completion of the scarf shows the determination and dedication of WRVS, they all help us to help you, the members of the public. I am proud to be associated with them all and I hope everyone will join in thanking them, not only for their recent achievement, but for all the work they do within the community."
The WRVS has 100.000 volunteers working through the UK to tackle social isolation and to support communities. The WRVS emergency service works with local authorities to open rest centres and take care of members of the public who are innocent victims of disaster.
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This page last updated: 14/04/2002