THE Friends of Handforth Station is flying the flag for Rainbow pre-school to mark a special anniversary for the group.

For its 21st year the group chose the theme of conservation, and asked local schools to design a flag to fly at the railway station.

They chose a design by Rainbow Pre-school, where two to four-year-olds, who had provided two previous works for display, produced a colourful flag.

Jane Greenlees, a local artist and Preschool Practitioner said: “We talked about conservation to the children and they chose bees as an important part of this.

“They created flowers and bees, decided these needed wings and added the stripes to them.

“They had previously designed a Rainbow flag for the railway station, and wanted to include this again as a sign of hope, and added a rainbow-coloured bee hive."

Mike Bishop, founder of the group, said: “We were thrilled with the design that Rainbow designed, but needed to find funds to have it made.

“We have previously worked with a number of local companies who have sponsored our station enhancements, and this time approached Moore Secure Alarms, who were already working with others to improve the village, both now and into the future.

“We were delighted that they agreed to fund the flag.

Peter Moore, managing director of Moore Secure said: “Moore Secure has operated out of Handforth for nearly 30 years.

“We as directors have lived in the village for 41 years, and our children were brought up here.

“We feel it is extremely important that wherever possible local businesses support charities and local community groups with local interest, and with enhancing the village environment.

“We are very proud to be in a position to do this. We have supported a number of local charities over the years, and will continue to do so as long as the economic climate permits.”

The Friends of Handforth Station was formed in 1995.

The pre-school flag will be visible from the road, and will be flown at the railway station for the next two to three months.