ALCESTER has gone crazy for the colour red this month as part of the British Heart Foundation’s Ramp up the Red Campaign.

The campaign is hoping to highlight heart conditions, and the Chamber of Trade and commerce has teamed up with businesses throughout the town centre to make sure there’s a splash of red wherever people go, with decorated shop windows, more than 50 red flags hanging from poles, and 250 red helium balloons dotted throughout local businesses.

Several shops even have special charity offers on with The Turk’s Head offering a special red beer and putting a £1 from every pint to the charity, while Alcester greengrocers Five a Day is selling cyclamen plants at £1 for the charity.

Sam Rath, chairman of the Chamber, said: “It’s a general feel good thing and hopefully it will attract some people. Businesses were a bit shy to start with, but they got into the spirit of it, and they’ve all gone for it. All the windows have got fantastic displays in them even some of the opposing charities, it’s over whelming really the effort they’ve put in it’s pretty surprising when you see charity shops who are vying for every £1 from one another, going to as much trouble as they have.”

The festivities continue on to Valentine's Day this Friday with a tea party at the Truly Scrumptious cake shop, and red buckets all over town to collect donations for the charity.

And Sam considers Alcester to be a pretty nice place to spend the perfect Valentine's Day .

He added: "I’d have to say that it’s a really fun place to be. It’s just one of those great little towns."