BLOOMING good fun was had by all as thousands of residents from the Freshney ward were encouraged to spruce up their gardens.

Members of the Freshney Forward group handed out cash prizes of £75 to growers with the prettiest plant life as the first ever Freshney Ward In Bloom contest sprung into life.

Peggy Elliot, chair of the group, said: "The 30 members of our committee each selected a separate neighbourhood and then spent hours on end distributing 4,500 leaflets through residents' doors.

"It was all worth it in the end though as the standard was really high and we even had children from the local school taking part."

The prize winners were as follows: David Maddison, who won the best garden category for the Willows estate; Les Smith, best garden for Aylesby Park; Fran Scargall, for best community garden; and Mr Portess, best garden and planter in Wybers Wood.