Laura Bagshaw VISITORS to Gorleston will have a colourful flower display to gaze at from next spring as the garden on Feathers Plain gets a well-deserved spruce-up. The garden, close to the public toilets, is currently home to an overgrown shrub, making the area look unattractive according to a local community group.

Laura Bagshaw

VISITORS to Gorleston will have a colourful flower display to gaze at from next spring as the garden on Feathers Plain gets a well-deserved spruce-up.

The garden, close to the public toilets, is currently home to an overgrown shrub, making the area look unattractive according to a local community group.

And soon it could be home to the town's so called runic stone - a rock engraved with strange carvings which was taken from Gorleston beach in 2003.

Considered at first to be the work of Bronze Age cavemen, the markings even fooled archaeologists for a short time before it was discovered they had in fact been made by a local artist and created just over 10 years ago.

At the Gorleston area liaison meeting on Monday night a representative from local conservation group START asked the borough council if a more attractive display could be made for the location.

Tory Jim Shrimplin, cabinet member for environment, said the shrub would be coming out and a new display going in for spring.

He said: “The In Bloom committee are looking at putting some type of feature there, although any plan will need permission from highways

at county council.”

Mr Shrimplin was quizzed by a local resident, who asked whether a more attractive feature could be put up. A suggestion was made that the so-called runic stone be used as a feature on Feathers Plain.

The rock, which formed part of

the sea defences, was removed

from the beach after the

strange carvings were found,

and although the carvings

turned out to be false the rock is still being stored in the borough council's Churchill Road depot in Yarmouth.

While Mr Shrimplin didn't share the view that the runic stone would make an interesting feature he said if it was practical the council would use it.