LEDBURY people revealed great community spirit last weekend, as they responded to the call for an eleventh hour tidy-up for Ledbury in Bloom, ahead of judging day.

Ledbury in Bloom's chairman, Clive Gunn drove around the town on Sunday, one day before the Heart of England in Bloom judges arrived, and he said he was 'amazed' at the amount of local people out and about, sprucing up the town as unsung community heroes.

Ledbury pulled out all the stops in a bid to win its eleventh Royal Horticultural Society gold medal in a row, and the results will be announced in September.

But whatever the outcome, Ledbury surely deserves top marks for last minute community effort, following a front page appeal in The Reporter, last Friday.

One elderly lady was seen sweeping the street at the top of Church Street, near to the steps for Dog Hill Wood. Other residents tidied up roadside verges and Mr Gunn noted now overgrowth on the Deer Park estate had been tidied up by an unknown person or group.

This was a key move, because the front gardens of Deer Park were part of the judge's inspection route on Monday (July 17).

Mr Gunn said: "Ledbury just looks fantastic. We went round Ledbury on Sunday and there were people all over the place, doing stuff."

He said of the actual judging day: "It just went fantastically and we kept to schedules better than we thought we could. This has brought the whole of the community together brilliantly. It was delightful. I'm glad it's over now; but it's a relief it all came together nicely."

Margaret Thomas, Ledbury in Bloom's volunteer co-ordinator, agreed. She said: "It was a lovely day and the judges seemed very impressed."

Mr Gunn picked out several areas for excellence.

He said: "Queen's Walk is a jewel. We have transformed Queen's Walk. We have stripped back overgrowth and the paths had become all overgrown. We have now exposed some of the old blue bricks and we've also painted and renovated a lot of the ironwork, such as the bins and plant supports."

He said: "At the Walled Garden, at this moment, the roses are outstanding."

Reflecting again on Monday's judging day, Mr Gunn said: "Our efforts and the efforts of the community resulted in a wonderful day.

"Now I'm already talking with the Ledbury in Bloom vice chairman, Christina Vass, about what we might do next year."