THE sweet smell of success could be coming Bury's way after the borough hosted a visit by judges from North West In Bloom.

The four were shown around the town centre by Bury Council parks officials before visiting Ramsbottom. Last year, Ramsbottom finished second runner-up in the small towns category and in 1997 finished third overall, the same year in which the borough received an award of merit.

Mr Martin Hathaway, Bury Council parks and open spaces officer, took the judges around the district on a tour which lasted four hours.

Martin said: "We have entered Bury in the North West in Bloom competition for the past seven years. I walked them around Bury town centre and showed them all the gardens.

"Obviously, they look at improvements which have taken place which included town centre traffic calming measures and the Bury Castle scheme."

Martin added: "The judges don't just look at flowers but at things that make people's lives a lot better. During their visit, some of them wandered off on their own to look around back streets.

"They had their tick sheets and asked me a lot of questions, including how we tackle waste reduction and things like Agenda 21 and how we involve schools in the environment. They questioned me for 20 minutes." He added: "It's also very important to consider how we work with businesses in the community. There are sponsored flower baskets schemes and we work with traders and people.

"And the judges seemed to be impressed by the fact we run our own Bury in Bloom competition which schools, businesses, householders and the community in general can enter. They seemed taken with that."

Later, Martin and the judges travelled to Ramsbottom which, according to the local authority officer, "looked very good".

But he admitted it was difficult to assess what the judges thought during their visit and whether the borough would triumph again in this year's competition.

"Because Ramsbottom did well last year, it doesn't guarantee something the next season," said Martin. "The judges don't give anything away. But we are always hopeful.

Now, Martin and his colleagues face a wait of around five weeks before the results are announced for this year's North West in Bloom, organised by the Tidy Britain Group.