A PURPLE-themed campaign to End Polio Now culminated with a giant P in the Park outside St Albans Abbey last weekend. The St Albans Priory Rotary Club has spent weeks raising money for End Polio Now, a worldwide campaign organised by Rotary International

A PURPLE-themed campaign to End Polio Now culminated with a giant P in the Park outside St Albans Abbey last weekend.

The St Albans Priory Rotary Club has spent weeks raising money for End Polio Now, a worldwide campaign organised by Rotary International to eradicate the crippling disease in the four remaining countries - Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Nigeria - which are still affected by it.

From bucket collections to taking part in St Albans's annual Pancake Day race and illuminating St Albans Town Hall in purple lights, the St Albans Priory Rotary Club - which was inspired by the purple dab of paint used to mark immunised children in polio affected countries - has raised thousands of pounds for the effort.

After spending last Saturday morning auctioning off Saracens tickets at their St Albans market stall, the club, which raised �100 from the Saracens sale, headed to the Abbey Orchard where they created a giant P out of purple balloons with the help of passers-by.

Rotary club member Karen Mullinex, who joined 18 months ago, said that the idea was to do something that was "a little bit of fun" to mark the end of the worldwide campaign, which aims to raise �100 million to support immunisation campaigns in developing countries.

For more information about the St Albans Priory Rotary Club and their purple campaign, visit www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.asp? ClubID=1743