It is her way of saying thank you to “our heroes.”Joan Garraway, an 85-year-old great-grandmother from Dereham has devoted countless to knitting balaclavas for soldiers from the Light Dragoons at nearby Swanton Morley.

It is her way of saying thank you to “our heroes.”

Joan Garraway, an 85-year-old great-grandmother from Dereham has devoted countless to knitting balaclavas for soldiers from the Light Dragoons at nearby Swanton Morley.

She has already produced 28 of the khaki head-pieces - and has vowed to carry on and hopes other people with time on their hands can join in.

“There must be lots of ladies who like knitting. They are so easy,” said Mrs Garraway, of Toftwood, who has a son and three daughters, eight grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

“I am pleased to help the soldiers. They are our boys and our heroes and they are just up the road. The amount I am doing is a drop in the ocean but I hope it will snowball and I hope others will do the same.”

The idea came from an appeal on a website to knit headwear for US troops - but Mrs Garraway was insistent she wanted them to go to the local soldiers.

Her sister-in-law Eileen Farrow, 89, also from Dereham, was going to make balaclavas but she has arthritis in her hands so Mrs Garraway said she would take up the mantle.

Captain Tim Badham, of the Light Dragoons, said: “It is awesome and we are incredibly grateful for this act of generosity. There will be a big competition to see who gets the first ones!”

“It is another act which highlights the closer links between the Light Dragoons and the local community.”

He said the welcome home parade in Dereham last year after the soldiers returned from Afghanistan had shown the strong relationship between the regiment and local people and deeds like Mrs Garraway's reinforced it.