BRIGHTLY painted rocks bearing the positive messages that lifted community spirits during Covid have been turned into a permanent display in Alcester.

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The rocks started off as a bit of fun during the first lockdown in 2020 when two were placed by the old railway line.

Not long after more rocks appeared as people realised rock painting, combined with going for a walk to the railway line, was a great way to get out of the house and talk to other people while keeping a safe distance.

The collection continued to grow and eventually included 5,000 rocks.

The idea started when neighbours Serena Stratford and Katie Gillett talked about ways they could help the Alcester community during the pandemic – and the Positivity Rock Line was created.

Serena said: “After lockdown we stored the rocks away for a year and last Saturday a permanent display of some of the rocks was unveiled with a plaque. The rocks are laid out to show the numbers 2020 to symbolise the year when Covid first happened. There’s also the letters K and S within the display, first letter of Katie’s name and my name. We wanted to remember how Alcester was at that time and how the positive messages on the rocks brought a lot of people together.”

Alcester Town Council supported the project with funding, as did former mayor Cllr Gill Forman with money from the mayor’s fund when she held the post in 2020.

The rocks are installed at the community orchard at Jubilee Fields, close to the Eric Payne Community Centre.