By Saul Cooke-Black

JUDGES from Heart of England in Bloom have been visiting Stroud and Stonehouse in recent weeks for the annual floral competition.

This week the SNJ looks back to an eventful in Bloom year in 2005, when vandals threatened to spoil Stroud’s entry, only for the town to be saved by some unlikely heroes.

Less than two weeks before judging day volunteers were devastated when they found their hard work seemingly undone.

Vandals had torn up displays at the four clocks tower and geraniums had been stolen from flower boxes near the Merrywalks roundabout.

Prisoners at Leyhill open prison in South Gloucestershire were furious when they heard the news and promptly came to the rescue.

As part of their rehabilitation, inmates had been growing flowers and vegetables to sell to the public and garden centres.

As they had a surplus, the prisoners agreed that they would help put Stroud back in bloom by donating the extra flowers towards the entry.

However, shortly after the donations another display of flowers was vandalised – this time outside of McDonald’s.

Haydn Sutton, an organiser of the flower festival, told the SNJ in 2005: “It’s a fantastic gesture, it’s amazing how out of bad comes good.”