BLANKETS knitted by elderly residents of a Darwen care home will be taken to Ghana and given to the poor.

Residents at Willow Gardens have been coming together for ‘knit and craft’ sessions on Tuesday afternoons for more than a year to socialise and knit a variety of items.

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Previously a resident at the care home, which opened 18 months ago, would take knitted items out to Morocco to give to the natives.

But after he passed away, the residents wanted to continue donating blankets to Africa in his memory.

They made contact with volunteer Tracey Tyler through Darwen charity Broken Arcs and she will take the blankets to Ghana in March.

Mum-of-three Mrs Tyler, 45, who lives at Oakdale, said the blankets would be vital for families as the temperatures in Ghana plummet at night.

She said: “We are going out and building two houses as part of a project called City Hearts International.

“These houses are like wooden structures with tin roofs.

“A bit like our sheds but bigger.

“They cost about £700 each so I have been raising money for the materials and equipment and last week I did a skydive.

“The idea is we are going out to work with the children as well as they don’t have good schools but they love to learn about anything.

“I will be taking the blankets with me that the women at Willow Gardens have made and giving them to the families out there.

“It is a very hot country but at night it goes quite cold and they do not have anything to cover up with, so these blankets are a lifesaver.”

City Hearts is a charity that houses and helps women with life controlling issues and victims of human trafficking in the UK, but also runs educational programmes in Africa.

Mrs Tyler and the rest of her group will head out to Ghana on Monday, March 9, for 10 days.