SELKIRK Ex-Soldiers Association is planning on installing further tributes to the town’s fallen heroes.

The association, which is part of the Royal British Legion Scotland, wants to install a metal remembrance bench, complete with sculpted poppies, soldiers and a horse.

The tribute will replace a wooden bench on Bemersyde Crescent, which is where the Ex-Soldiers Association Standard Bearer practises casting before each Common Riding.

The current bench has deteriorated and is now “beyond economic repair”.

The association is asking for £400 from the Selkirk Common Good Fund committee, which will meet on Wednesday to discuss the application, although the cost of the bench will be approximately £1300.

In a statement to the committee, David Deacon, secretary of the Selkirk Ex-Soldiers’ Association, said: “The motto of ‘service, not self’ is very strong within the organisation, not only for its members but for the whole community.

“As well as offering a contact for veterans and their families, where comradeship, help and advice on a range of subjects can be found the ex-soldiers are actively engaged in supporting the local community to improve the area for all.

“An example of this is the garden adjacent to the Selkirk war memorial, which before the intervention of the ex-soldiers was somewhat of an abandoned waste ground and an eyesore as you enter the town.

“The current bench was installed in 2010 as a gift to the people of Selkirk to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Selkirk Ex-Soldiers’ Association.”

The remaining funds for the bench will be raised via raffles and private donations, and the bench will be re-dedicated to Bill Scott, to whom the current bench is dedicated.