ONLY 17 people took part in the annual Alton Royal British Legion poppy walk on Sunday morning, but everyone who lined up completed the 10-mile course.

On a day when numbers were down on recent years, the youngest walker was nine years old and the oldest in their late-70s, but no-one opted for the shorter five-mile walk.

And they were rewarded with warm spring sunshine on a route that took them from the Legion headquarters at Anstey Park, through Froyle and the surrounding countryside and back to Alton.

Club chairman Colin Murrell said: “We didn’t have so many on the walk this year but those that did come managed to do the 10 miles in just over two hours.

“We had a good morning and treated them to a buffet lunch when we got back to the club.”

At present he doesn’t know how much has been raised, as the walkers were all sponsored, but the money will all go to the British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.

Selling poppies last November, which included going around Alton and its neighbouring villages, raised £24,000.