It's gold again for county town

Shrewsbury has scooped a gold medal in the prestigious Entente Florale competition after a rare unanimous decision by judges.

The latest victory completes a triple success for the county town. For Shrewsbury won gold medals in the town/small city category in both the Heart of England and Britain in Bloom contests.

The town's success in the European competition is partly due to the Quarry's Dingle which Entente judges praised as Shrewsbury's "golden honey pot."

Borough councillor Judith Williams today said it was a fantastic success for the people of Shrewsbury.

She said: "We are absolutely thrilled to bits. I just can't believe it. Initially we were against 20,000 from all over Europe and we were whittled down.

"We were the UK representatives. It was a tough final but we got gold."

The presentations were made in Ripon Cathedral in Yorkshire last night to an audience of 600 people.

A special mention was given to town centre gardener Geoff Hammond, who is in his 33rd year at the borough council. He went up on stage with the Mayor of Shrewsbury and Atcham Councillor John Cooke and other representatives to receive the accolade.

Stan Sedman, chairman of Shrewsbury In Bloom, said the judge's decision was unanimous, which was unique.

He said: "It is a credit to Shrewsbury as a whole. It's the local authority and the community working together."

Fourteen officials were given a VIP tour of the town by the In Bloom committee in July.