AN East Lancashire borough has brightened up its parks and main town centre thanks to a gift of flowers.

The move by Hyndburn Council follows complaints about about the 'embarrassing' weed-ridden state of Accrington Town Square's planters.

Both Tory group deputy leader Cllr Peter Britcliffe and former Labour MP Graham Jones as well as borough residents have raised the issue in the past year.

Now they have been refreshed with new flowers from Preston-based Lovania Nurseries.

Almost 10,000 flowers and five pallets of bulbs have been gifted to various organisations including the council, Rhyddings Park, Hyndburn Green Spaces Forum and Freshfields.

Cllr Steven Smithson, Hyndburn Council's environment boss said: “It is clear from speaking to people in our towns that residents want to see more flowers and colour.

"Although the ideal planting time of year has now passed and we are planning for more permanent solutions in the future, I am really pleased that we have been able to source these new floral instalments in the interim.

"The beds in Accrington Town Square now have some fresh flowers which are blooming brightly and various parks and community groups have also benefited from the donation too.

"We are really grateful to Lavonia for this generous donation, It makes a huge difference and they are a great addition to the existing plants such as the green foliage, which is low maintenance and not seasonal like floral displays are.

"I would also like to thank the parks team at Hyndburn Council and the various volunteers who have worked quickly to plant and distribute these for people to enjoy this summer.

"This is a small step in our long-term plans to restore pride in our borough.”

Cllr Caroline Montague, Hyndburn's green ambassador said: “These flowers would have otherwise gone to landfill. It is fantastic that through quick action the flowers are not only bringing some colour, they are already attracting insects such as bees who need these plants for nectar and pollen.”

Ian Edgar, senior operations manager at Lovania Nurseries, said: “These plants were oversupply and unfortunately would have needed to be discarded if we couldn’t find someone to use them. We are really pleased that these plants have found a home in Hyndburn.”