An Olympic swimming pool sized poppy made from more than 60,000 Flanders poppies was unveiled on Friday to mark the centenary of the First World War.

Covering 40m in diameter and an area of 1300 square meters, the giant poppy at Wimblington’s Skylark Garden Centre is believed to be the biggest in the world.

The centre is waiting to hear from Guinness World Records to see if their claim has been accepted.

Children from Thomas Eaton School, who helped plant the poppies two months ago, came back to see their labours in bloom.

Royal British Legion Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire branch secretary Bryan Jones, who also attended the unveiling, said: “We are delighted and humbled at the effort that has been taken by Skylark Garden Centre into creating this live poppy field in the shape of a poppy.

“Since the end of the Great War the poppy has become the emblem of Remembrance and by involving the local school children in this project it helps them to remember those that fell and hopefully the legacy is that our children and their children will carry on remembering those who sacrificed their lives for another 100 years.

“It is fitting that the poppies have flowered in the week that marks the centenary of Britain going to war in 1914, maybe the poppies knew the best time.”

The giant poppy is part of a 12 acre maize maze cut out in field of 1 million living maize plants in the shape of Lord Kitchener’s famous ‘Your Country Needs You’ poster image.

The Lord Kitchener maze was officially opened last month by Lady Emma Kitchener, the great-great-niece of Lord Kitchener.

Edward Gowler, of Skylark Garden Centre, said. “We wanted to play our part in commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Great War.

“As a garden centre we have access to a nursery and the know-how to create a giant poppy like this. It has flowered just in time for the start of the 100th anniversary commemorations.”

The centre is selling maze maps which cost £1 each for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.