GREEN fingers who have spent months weeding and pruning their competition gardens will be looked at by eagle-eyed judges today.

The Royal Horticultural Society’s assessors will descend on Rawtenstall to critique five gardens up for inspection as part of the It’s Your Neighbourhood competition.

More than 60 volunteers from the Civic Pride Rossendale group have spent hundreds of hours at the Old Fold Garden, the Haslingden Old Road garden, the St Mary’s Way Embankment, the bypass outbound layby and the Metal Tree Bed, adjacent to the Rawtenstall Tesco.

Chris Blomerley, (corr) chairman of the group, said the volunteers response to the competition has been fantastic.

He said: “We have had people out pretty much 365 days a year, come rain or shine, sleet and snow.

“People care about their public spaces and its important to make sure they look nice, not just for the competition, but for the town’s future.

“Businesses are not going to want to set up in a town that is overgrown with weeds and dead plants.

“A pretty town will attract more people and businesses to come to it.

“Last year we picked up 18 tonnes of litter, in around 3,000 bags, we’ve done a similar amount this time too.”

Other gardens to be judged include the History Garden in Bacup and the flower beds by the Green Squirrel pub in Haslingden.

On their website, a Royal Horticultural Society spokesman said: “The RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood campaign supports community groups in cleaning up and greening up their immediate local environment.

“Whether that’s the street they live in, or a small patch of communal land needing a revamp.

“Those taking part report cleaner, greener and safer surroundings, a growing sense of community pride and increase rates of local recycling and environmental awareness.”