A GARDENING group in Nelson has found an innovative way of re-using thousands of plastic bottles.

The award-winning Pendle Grow and Sow proved there was no need for glass after using 1,200 pop bottles to build a greenhouse in the Hodge House allotments.

Now they are inviting keen gardeners who need a place for over-wintering tender exotics and raising toma-toes, to come and see how it works in Reedyford Road.

The project was spear-headed by Gillian Preston, member of the green team which is part of Pendle Leisure Trust’s Healthy Lifestyle operation.

She said: “We wanted to do a project which was envir-onmentally friendly with items that would have ordinarily ended up in landfill.

“We wanted something that was practical and which the children could get involved in. It has turned out to be a real community effort.”

The greenhouse was built with the help of local residents, pupils at Holy Saviour Primary School and children at the project’s summer clubs who helped to wash and cut bottles.

It is built by cutting the bottom end off the bottle and using a cane to fasten them together in rows.

They are then supported by a wooden frame.

Grow and Sow co-ordinator Joanne Dootson said: “We have been doing a lot of recycling with toilets, sinks and baths by using them in the garden and this was just an extension of that.

“We hope that this will spur people on and stop sending bottles to landfill sites.

“It might need a bit of insulation work but so far it has been fantastic and it was lovely to see everybody working together.”

The wood and other materials were donated by Lanlee Supplies in Colne.

Grow and Sow workshops planned for the next few months are: Fill your Boots with Bulbs on October 5; Weed Feed and Fallow on October 19; Feed the Birds on November 19; and Christmas Creations on December 14 at the Hodge House allotments.

Anyone wishing to get involved should call 01282 661739 or 07753 778619.