RED and white carnation buttonholes will be worn by Kidderminster's civic leaders for the traditional Mayor's Sunday procession and service in the town this weekend.

They are being presented by the Kidderminster-based Consulate of the Republic of Poland for the West Midlands to mark the 25th anniversary of the formation of Poland's Solidarity union, which played a role in the eventual collapse of Communism.

The West Midlands Polish consul, Mike Oborski, said: "Throughout the 1980s, when the Polish Solidarnosc - Solidarity - trade union was suppressed by the communists, the Charter Trustees wore carnations, presented by the local Polish community, in Poland's traditional white and red colours, as a symbol of support on Mayor's Sunday."

He added: "We are marking this anniversary by, once again, presenting carnation buttonholes to the Charter Trustees on Mayor's Sunday."