RESIDENTS of Ledbury have been urged to get busy to make the town spick-and-span in time for the visit by Heart of England in Bloom judges later this month.

A Ledbury Clean Up Week will be held from Monday, July 22, to Sunday, July 29, when sixth-formers from John Masefield High School will be joined by staff from the town's new Argos store and volunteers from Ledbury Litter Pickers to tidy up the town.

Ledbury in Bloom has won the Royal Horticultural Society's gold medal 12 times between 2006 and 2018.

Ledbury In Bloom chairman Clive Gunn said: “This is a wonderful initiative and I am extremely happy to support it.

"The staff at Argos have been granted funding by their new owners, Sainsbury’s, to get involved in local community projects and they have chosen this as their first.

"So JMHS sixth formers and the Argos staff will be joined by our volunteers in Making Ledbury Blooming Beautiful that week.

"There is much to do; we plan to tackle the weeds that have flourished in the wet and warm weather, check the telegraph poles, lampposts and other poles for out-of-date signs, clean the road signs and street name-plates and pick up rubbish.

"We will aim to clear as many roads as possible not just the route used by the judges.

“Actually, we have heard reports of roadways being tidied around Ledbury already. Many thanks to whoever has done this."

Elsewhere, the new owners of the town's historic Feathers Hotel have stepped up to play their part in the Bloom effort.

The the hotel's previous owners had long looked after the Hereford roundabout on the town bypass, but the relationship was in danger of lapsing.

John Grove of Ledbury in Bloom wrote to Kevin Charity, chief executive of the Coaching Inn Group, explaining the long association between the Feathers and the roundabout.

Now the group has agreed to keep it in trim until a new sponsor takes over officially.

Mr Gunn said: “I would like to thank John Grove for his intervention and Mr Charity for a wonderful response. Personally I would love for The Feathers to continue sponsoring the roundabout and playing a major role in the life of Ledbury.”