Father and daughter make impressive life-size balloon model of Captain Tom Moore

A father and daughter duo have made an impressive life-size balloon model of Captain Tom Moore to celebrate the money he has raised for the NHS.

Craig Cash, 39 and his nine-year-old daughter, Olivia-Mae, used around 100 balloons to build the intricate model.

The creative pair have proudly displayed their work of art in their garden in Horncastle, Lincolnshire.

The balloon creation depicts the 99-year-old war veteran as he walked 100 laps of his garden to raise money for the NHS amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The photos of the balloon depiction have circled far and wide on social media and have even reached the Captain himself.

“It’s had loads of great response, more than I could ever imagine,” Mr Cash told the PA news agency.

“It’s got to Captain Tom Moore himself and he’s retweeted it and said he really likes it and thinks it looks like him. I’m so happy that he’s been able to see it and that he approves of it.”

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The intricacies of the work are easy to spot with great additions like Captain Tom’s glasses - which are made from balloons and pipe cleaners, to the badges on his balloon chest showcasing his role during WWII.

To prevent the balloons from flying away, the pair fashioned a stand - the only non-balloon part of their masterpiece.

Captain Tom has now raised over £28 million for the NHS, and the father daughter team wanted to showcase him in his walking stance, complete with a walking aid.

“I needed the stance right, I needed to capture him – otherwise it was just going to be an old bloke on a Zimmer frame and I didn’t want that. It needed to be him.

“I have three photos of him that I kept going back to, just trying to work it to try and make it as much like him as possible.

“The hardest part was doing it respectfully and to a standard to honour him as a tribute.” Cash explained.

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Cash has been ballooning for sixteen years, a hobby he took up whilst recovering from a hernia operation.

While he’s on furlough from fitting alarms and CCTV, he and his daughter have taken the opportunity to spend some bonding time together.

“It’s been a real nice bonding experience,” he said.

“It’s a real positive thing to look back on during this negative, grey time we’re living in.”

Among the models the pair have made during lockdown are a 7ft heart honouring the NHS and an Easter basket.

Now, they’ve set their sights on honouring all the different key workers who are helping out with the coronavirus effort.

They started with farmers and will also thank lorry drivers, shop workers and teachers with their balloon creations.

“For all the other people who probably don’t get as much of a mention, that’s our aim, to make sure we say thank you to them as well,” Cash said.

“In this time, it’s everyone pulling together. There are a lot of people out there making everything go OK.”