Acle's bloomin' shame

AWARD winning hanging baskets may no longer have a rosy future in Acle because nobody wants to water them.

The baskets brimming with blooms have helped secure two major titles for Acle - the Calor Gas Best Kept Village award in 1998 and an Anglia In Bloom prize in 2003 - and have inspired visitors to wax lyrical about how pretty the blooms are and how much they add to the village in letters to the parish council.

But unless willing hands can be found to water and feed the flora between May and September, the baskets may have to be scrapped much to the consternation of the parish council which has been advertising for a paid waterer on village noticeboards and in the village newsletter since November.

Parish clerk Pauline James said: “I think it would be a real shame because the village does look very pretty during the summer and we have a lot of visitors who sit on the village green eating ice creams and it looks lovely. I think it will be a shame and the village will look a lot duller without them.”

The job had previously been shared by Adam Fisher, 29 and Chris James, 25, but both men were unable to find the time to continue while also having to juggle work and family commitments.

Applicants have to be able to spare at least an hour seven nights a week visiting each of the 31 baskets which are hung two to each lamp post around the green and also in The Street and have to be able to handle a heavy water tank on a wheelbarrow which pumps water through a pipe attached to a long arm secured to the basket.

In return for their efforts they will receive £6 an hour wages.

Parish councillor Brian Grint said the baskets had been a regular fixture in the village for over 10 years and the blooms, which cost the council £1,500, were supplied by Moulton Nurseries.

To find out more call the parish clerk on 01493 751070.