The winners of the first ever Otterburn Village in Bloom competition can now be unveiled after months of green-fingered preparation.

On Saturday July 31, vice chair of the parish council George Peto, and Diane White who runs Purple Haze florist in Bellingham, set out with their clipboards in hand to judge the inaugural event.

It was a tough task for the pair - who used a Royal Horticultural Society judging guide to ensure the competition was fair.

Gardens were marked on overall impression, maintenance of planted areas, plant election and plant quality, with a maximum of 40 marks available overall.

Cllr Peto said: "Last year we came up with an aim to build a better community for the village. We have got nice flower boxes and speed cameras in and I thought we could have a Village in Bloom competition.

"I put the feelers out on our Facebook page and asked if anyone would like to enter. There are some lovely gardens in our village and it was primarily just a bit of fun.

"On Saturday, in the pouring rain, me, my family and Diane walked around the village looking at all the gardens. Some of them were quite surprising because you go in the house and the garden is quite big at the back.

"There were gardens with vegetable patches, large gardens and small front gardens.

"Everyone was welcome to join in - it didn't matter how much gardening experience you had, or whether you had a three acre garden or a hanging basket. It was just a nice bit of community spirit.

"The only rule we had was that entrants had to live within our parish."

In first place came Colin and Elizabeth Hogarth, at the Gables, who scored an impressive 36 out of 40 for their pristine front and back gardens.

The couple won a voucher for Down To Earth garden centre in Hexham, along with a bottle of wine from Border Reiver and flowers from Purple Haze.

Taking the silver spot were Mary and Robert White, of Carter Cottage, who were treated a selection of beer from First and Last, after scoring 34 out of 40 for their garden.

In bronze position was Anne Craven, from Bonnyrigg Cottage, scoring 33 out of 40, winning fish and chips for two from the Village Chippy.

All the runners up were given a bag of flowers or vegetables made up by the pupils at Belsay primary school.

Cllr Peto said: "It was really nice. Everyone loves the winners' garden - it is very smart and well tended. They will be judging the competition next year, so they can't win two years in succession.

"Everybody that took part seemed to enjoy it. It was nice to get out and see people!"

The event was such a success Cllr Peto says it will become an annual event, with ideas in the pipeline for a children's category.

He said: "As time goes on we will try and get more things for the village. Everyone really enjoyed it.

"We want to say a massive thanks to everyone who donated prizes - without them it would not have happened.

"We want to try and build on it to bring people together. For the last 18 months everyone has been at home and I honestly think it lifted people up.

"It was a wet, miserable day on Saturday when we did the judging, but the main thing was to try and get some community spirit back and take pride in our village."