A fleet of police vehicles will have poppy stickers put on them to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War.

Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit will feature a poppy on all of its marked patrol vehicles.

The idea was put forward by two officers who served in the armed forces before joining the police, Constable Mark Fairclough and Assistant Chief Constable Paul Fullwood.

Pc Fairclough said: “I was pleased to receive such tremendous support for this idea to remember our fallen service personnel and show our respects for the ultimate sacrifice they made.

“I did not want to force this idea on anyone, but received positive feedback from every officer that I have spoken to about making this idea a reality.”

Mr Fullwood said he was “proud” to support Remembrance Day with the gesture, adding: “This is certainly not a glorification of war.

“We will be supporting the British Legion in their Poppy Appeal as we show our respects on this momentous anniversary.”

Cambridgeshire Police said stickers had been put on around 30 vehicles at a cost of approximately £5 per sticker.

The stickers were supplied by Bedford firm Signs Express for a reduced rate, with the company then making a “significant donation” to the Royal British Legion, the force said.

Earlier this month British Transport Police said it would not place poppy stickers on its vehicles, stressing that it supported the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal but was “concerned that stickers placed on some of our cars were not official Poppy Appeal merchandise”.

“Because of concerns regarding where the money for these stickers was ending up, we took the decision to not place these poppy stickers on BTP vehicles,” a spokesman said.