RESIDENTS of Upton have celebrated the official opening of their long-awaited Jubilee Garden.

Transformed from a cut through to garages to a compact green garden, the fenced Dorchester Road area was celebrated by representatives from the community.

High Sheriff of Dorset, Mrs Catriona Payne, performed the honours with help from local schoolchildren, cutting a ribbon across the entrance and planting a special Queen Elizabeth pink rosebush.

“It was created to commemorate the silver, gold and diamond jubilees of Queen Elizabeth,” said Cllr June Richards, chairman of Lytchett Minster and Upton Town Council.

“The ground was given to us in 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee. It has taken us a little while to finally get to the position we are in today,” she said.

That included having a four tonne piece of Purbeck stone, suitably inscribed, winched into place as the garden’s centrepiece. A lottery grant of nearly £7,000 enabled the railings to be put up and the flower beds stocked.

Mrs Payne, helped by Harry Maley, seven, and Joe Jacomb, six, from Upton Infants School and Jasmin Randall, 12, and Megan Thomas, 10, from Yarrells Preparatory School, planted one of six rose bushes to mark each decade, of the Queen Elizabeth and Birthday Girl varieties.

Liz Collinson, former councillor who was involved with the garden in 1977 said she was pleased with the way it had turned out. “I have never seen so many people here,” she said.

Cllr Fred Drane said: “I think it’s wonderful. We could perhaps have a seat here if the people are prepared to contribute towards it. It would be their seat.”