A pub in Weymouth has been transformed into a beacon of remembrance.

Wyke Smugglers on Portland Road has been decorated with poppies in the lead-up to Armistice Day.

The pub has a key role in helping to distribute poppies locally, but this year the owners wanted to make a bolder statement to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War.

Rhos Thompson, the pub’s landlord, said: “We’ve had to push harder than ever this year because we wanted to do something extra special.”

Landlady Anna Jones added: “The Armistice is so important to remember because we wouldn’t have our freedom without it.”

The pub’s display has received a positive reaction from the community.

Mr Thompson added: “People have been stopping by the pub and buying poppies or sponsoring the large poppies to go on lampposts or on display outside the pub.”

A picture of the pub’s display was posted on Wyke Smugglers’ Facebook page and has been shared more than 600 times, reaching more than 45,000 people.

The large poppies were put up by local firm TS Scaffolding with the help of The Veterans Hub.

Mr Thompson said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to TS Scaffolding for donating their time and equipment which has made this display come together. And to The Veterans Hub who helped with the netting.”

This is the third year the pub has been using large poppies to decorate nearby lampposts.

The aim was to originally cover a lamppost from the pub to the roundabout, but it has become so popular that people have been trying to cover lampposts from Portland Bill to the cenotaph and from Sutton Poyntz to Weymouth seafront.

Last year, the pub raised £2,174 from selling poppies for the Royal British Legion, and the district of Wyke Regis raised a total of £4,106.

Mr Thompson said: “We’ve been selling street poppies for the last three years now and I hope we can carry on. It’s a lovely thing to do and it’s all for a good cause. I’m so happy people from Weymouth and Portland throw themselves behind it. “Last year we did very well, but we want to beat that. We’re hoping to raise more than £3,000 by selling poppies at the pub alone. It would be nice if everyone comes and sponsors or buys a poppy.

“People from the area are so kind and generous, the response has been absolutely unbelievable this year.”As well as selling poppies, a replica of a wartime bunker is being erected inside the pub, using sandbags from Wessex Water.

The pub is inviting local people to bring wartime photos to the pub, which will be photocopied and displayed inside the bunker.

It’s also encouraging parents and their children to cut out and paint the bottom of drinks bottles red to create plastic poppies, which will be displayed inside the nearby tennis court.

To buy or sponsor a poppy visit Wyke Smugglers pub on Portland Road.