Sidmouth turns yellow as daffodils planted in resident's memory blossom.
ITV West Country News report - broadcast 17/03/2021

Credit ITV News                                                                                                                 Image © ITV News

Sidmouth has become a sea of yellow thanks to a former resident who left the Devon town his fortune when he died.
It is at this time of year the town bursts into colour thanks in part to Keith Owen, a Canadian investment banker who lived in Sidmouth.
He died in 2007 but left his entire savings - £ 2.3 million - to the town's Sid Vale Association,
with his dying wish for a million flowers to be planted.


Credit ITV News                   Daffodils in bloom in Sidmouth.                   Image © ITV News


Richard Eley, President of Sidmouth Chamber of Commerce, told ITV News West Country :

"One of the last instructions he gave was the money should be used for big ideas and imaginative projects,
and so instead of just planting some daffodil bulbs, Sidmouth decided to plant a million.

It was a huge community effort over two or three years and so there are daffodils all over the valley
and it looks great - it brings life and a sense of springtime to the whole town.

We've got an awful lot of footpaths here - 62 miles within the parish - and so walking has become a big thing.
The appreciation of the countryside and the wildlife has been accentuated I think as a consequence of the pandemic,
and so I think the daffodils probably have helped people get through the whole process."

The hope is that Keith's legacy will bring happiness to locals and visitors for generations to come.


Credit ITV News                                                                                           Image © ITV News

Peter Moss, who is on the committee for the Keith Owen Fund, helps choose which community projects get funding.

He said,"We help all sorts of organisations get funding, mainly organisations where people have put voluntary time and effort into it.
I think there has been something over a hundred awards at the moment, so we are incredibly fortunate.
With the daffodils in place, the hope is that Keith's legacy will bring happiness to locals and visitors for generations to come.

A big 'Thank You' to the ITV team.
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