The region’s primary cancer charity has seen nearly 400,000 British sunflowers donated in support of its new £5million fundraising appeal.

Lingen Davies Cancer Support launched its largest appeal to date in June – a £5million Sunflower Appeal to develop cancer services in Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital through the provision of a Cancer Centre by 2029.

The charity was invited to collect as many sunflowers as required from Shropshire Petal Fields – a collaborative event between biodegradable confetti company, Shropshire Petals, and the award-winning events company, Shropshire Festivals.

Shropshire Petal Fields, a myriad of colour near Newport, provided thousands of visitors with the opportunity to explore fields brimming with fresh delphiniums, cornflowers, sunflowers, and other wildflowers.

This is the third consecutive year that Shropshire Petal Fields, a collaboration between Shropshire Festivals and Shropshire Petals, has been open to the public.

"It's lovely to welcome our friends at Lingen Davies Cancer Support," said Beth Heath, Director of Fun at Shropshire Festivals. "They do incredible work supporting the people of Shropshire, Telford, and Mid Wales as they deal with the impact of cancer on their lives. Their Sunflower Appeal is bold and ambitious, and we wish them the very best in hitting that target as soon as possible to boost their life-changing support."

Ashley Evers-Swindell from Shropshire Petals adds, “We’re so pleased to welcome Lingen Davies to our flower field as part of their wonderful Sunflower Appeal. It’s a small gesture from us, but one we hope brings a little sunshine to the incredible patients, families, and supporters they work with every day. We’re proud to support such an important Shropshire charity doing vital work in our community.”

The invitation was coordinated by Dave Reynolds who is a keen supporter of Lingen Davies. Dave is preparing to run the London Marathon 2026 having pledged to raise over £2,000 for the charity following the excellent cancer care given to his father-in-law in the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

To support his marathon fundraising efforts, Dave has sold bunches of the sunflowers collected at Shropshire Petal Fields to his colleagues at Telford business Reconomy.

Lingen Davies fundraiser Jonathan Wood said: “We were overjoyed by this unique offer following the recent launch of our Sunflower Appeal. Most of the flowers we’ve collected will be dried in preparation for some upcoming events and others have already been earmarked for the next round of Horticultural Activities – part of our Wellbeing Programme - in September.”

The Horticultural Activity sessions are run by Bloomin’ Lovely as part of Lingen Davies’ £100,000 Wellbeing Programme – a collection of funded activities and workshops to support those in the region living with and beyond cancer.

Lingen Davies Cancer Support is the region’s primary cancer charity, working to enhance cancer care and ensure those living in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, and Mid Wales can access excellent cancer services locally.

The new Lingen Davies Cancer Centre at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford will double chemotherapy capacity in the region with 30 new chemotherapy bays, alongside new outpatients clinics, and new lung and urology diagnostic clinics.

The award-winning creative force that is Shropshire Festivals is responsible for some of Shropshire’s most popular, fun-filled events, including Shrewsbury Food Festival, Oktoberfest and Shropshire Business Festival, as well as hosting corporate events throughout the year.

Shropshire Petals, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, grow a wide range of British flowers to create dried flower bouquets and biodegradable petal confetti for weddings and events. The eco-friendly flowers are grown on a fourth-generation family farm in Shropshire.