TALENTED artists and green fingered gardeners from across Bury have been awarded as part of the Greening Grey Britain competitions.

The gifted winners were awarded their prizes by the Mayor of Bury, Councillor Dorothy Gunther, at a ceremony in Bury Town Hall.

Now in its seventh year, the gardening competition encourages residents, communities and schools to use their gardening skills, and help celebrate Bury and Radcliffe in Bloom.

Judging took place in August and was carried out by officers from the parks and countryside service, with entries judged on overall design, wildlife friendliness of plants and features, recycling, and sustainability.

Children aged four to 16 were also invited to design a poster to promote the Royal Horticultural Society's Greening Grey Britain theme, and over 350 entries were received.

Designs by 10 children were selected to be displayed in Bury town centre and parks, to help promote entries in RHS North West in Bloom and Britain in Bloom.

The winners were: Holly MacKay, 10, Grace MacKay, 8, Lily May Haydock, 7, Jacob Evans, 12, Emily Hesford, 12, Ella Davey, 12, Hafeeza Bibi, 7, Alina Bakhat, 9, Rayan Ali Syed, 11, and Abdullah Tariq, 11; with each winner receiving a prize donated by Tesco and Bury Recycling Team.

Councillor Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment, said: "Congratulations to everyone who entered this year’s garden and ‘design a poster’ competitions.

"As always the standard of garden entries was first-rate as was the artistic efforts of our youngsters.

"The posters are always a great asset to our annual ‘in bloom’ campaigns, and the garden competition gives us a great opportunity to reward the hard work of green-fingered residents who continue to do their bit to keep our borough looking great.

"Many thanks also to all the local businesses that supported these competitions by providing the prizes and attending the awards ceremony."

The winners were:

Best Private Front Garden, sponsored by The Rock - Kevan Eastham

Best Street or Community Garden, sponsored by Summerseat Garden Centre - Bolton Road Allotments (Persona), Radcliffe

Best Commercial or Retail Display, sponsored by Wickes - Sillett’s Funeral Service of Radcliffe.

Best School Environmental Garden, sponsored by Wickes - Higher Lane Primary School, Whitefield.

The discretionary award for the Greening Grey Britain theme, sponsored by Newbank Garden Centre - Bolton Road Allotments (Persona)

Overall winner of the Design a Poster competition, sponsored by Bury Market - Rayan Ali Syed