Dozens of handmade knitted hearts have been given to residents at Royal Star & Garter.

They were gifted to the veterans’ Home in Solihull by Marion Abbott, who made the keepsakes during the lockdowns.

She also made extra hearts for the partners of residents living at the Tudor Coppice Home.

Royal Star & Garter provides loving, compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia.

Before the pandemic, Marion knitted toys and cardigans which she gave to charity shops and good causes. When Covid struck, she started knitting hearts for patients and staff at a Birmingham hospital’s ICU, before turning her generosity towards Royal Star & Garter, where her great-niece Maisie Casey works.

Around 30 residents have now received their hearts, and Marion, from Birmingham, is working hard so that all residents will soon have one.

A special twin heart was also given to Pat Fisher, whose husband Doug is a resident at Royal Star & Garter. She was so moved that she has placed the heart alongside her favourite photo of Doug and herself.

Maisie said: “Marion knows about the charity and all the great work we do through me and she decided to knit hearts for the veterans here. The residents love it, with a lot of them hanging them up on their doors. Pat was especially thrilled to receive a matching heart. It meant so much for her to have that connection to Doug while there were visiting restrictions in the Home. She’s tied her heart underneath her favourite photo of her and Doug, she said she wanted people to know how much it truly meant to her.”

Royal Star & Garter also has Homes in Surbiton and High Wycombe. For more information about the charity, go to www.starandgarter.org