A BLOOMING beautiful East Dorset town has been visited by judges as part of a national competition.

Two judges for the Britain in Bloom competition were given a tour of Ferndown by town clerk Ian Jones and head groundsman Keith Wilcox before meeting mayor Councillor John Lewis and his wife Barbara.

Chairman of Ferndown in Bloom, Cllr Jean Read, was joined by fellow committee members who will be keeping their green fingers crossed that the town will receive a good score from the visitors.

She said: “The town is looking very colourful in the sunshine. “We start our own judging for the Ferndown In Bloom competition over the next few weeks so if anyone who entered sees people looking at their gardens with clipboards in hand – please feel free to say hello. As with many other towns, we have seen entries drop considerably compared to last year but we have over 40 strong contenders for the best garden category.”

The awards in the South and South East in Bloom competition will be announced on September 11.