This town council is offering people free pick your own fruit and vegetables

People in a Norfolk town will have the chance to pick their own fruit, vegetables and herbs for free as a way to combat a shortage of allotments in the area.

Since the Attleborough in Bloom project launched in March, volunteers have spent hundreds of hours transforming the town with flowers and plants, ready for the Anglia in Bloom competition later this month.

The contest rewards cities, towns and villages across six regions for their horticultural achievements and crowned Attleborough third place winners in its 2018 competition.

Leading the effort is 25-year-old town and district councillor, Taila Taylor, who has been on a mission to get the local community to roll up their sleeves for the project.

Among this year's creations is a community vegetable garden on Queen's Square.

The 25-year-old said she was inspired to create the produce garden by the six-year waiting list for allotments in the town and wanted to give people the chance to enjoy fresh local produce.

The plants, donated by the London Tavern, are dotted around Queens Square and include courgette, tomatoes, kale, broccoli and gherkins, ready for hungry passers-by to take samples from.

She said: "We know allotments are something people want and the amount of positivity this has received has been amazing.

"I live opposite the planters and have seen people taking samples. One woman collected spinach for a picnic the other day which is great to see."

Alongside planting, the team has been working on improving the overall look of the town by cleaning up graffiti and joining the Attleborough Trash Tribe on litter picks.

Last weekend volunteers collected almost 80kg of rubbish, including a pile of paint cans and a mattress dumped in a hedgerow, which was renovated into a new trellis planter for Connaught Hall.

Judging for Anglia in Bloom takes place on Monday July 15, and Ms Taylor said she hoped the community involvement would help the town better its 2018 bronze placing. She added: "Our volunteers are relentless and it's paid off because we are seeing less rubbish in the town and people responding to how great it looks."

03/07/2019