A KNITTING group are making a blanket big enough to cover a football pitch to raise money for prematurely born babies.

Sharon Newman, who owns Avicraft wool shop in Chatterton Road, Bromley, and seven of her friends are making the massive blanket to raise funds for charity Bliss, which supports premature babies.

They started the project three years ago and hope to have the huge blanket – which will be around 110m by 75m – ready to cover a football pitch just before the start of the 2012 Olympics.

People from all over the world have sent blankets to add to the massive one, including volunteers from a Salford community centre who cycled all the way to Bromley to hand deliver theirs yesterday.

Mum-of-two Mrs Newman, 45, said: “We chose Bliss as people often come into the shop for wool to knit clothes for premature babies as they can’t buy clothes small enough.

“Also, one of the ladies who was involved in the early days of setting up Bliss, Jan Morgan, who had two premature babies, is a close friend of mine.”

Mrs Newman and her knitting group have raised almost £5,000 so far through sponsorship and donations.

She said: “At first we asked people to knit a blanket measuring one metre by half a metre and send them to me at the shop, but now we’re just asking people to send whatever they can.”

“We are being sent blankets every week. We can’t believe how many people are helping us.”

Mrs Newman added: “We’re hoping to find a football ground willing to let us cover the pitch, but if not we’ll fill Greenwich Park, which is an Olympic venue for horse racing."

For details on sending blankets to Mrs Newman, call her on 020 8460 0818 or email sharon@avicraftpanic.fsnet.co.uk