A man planted more than 2,000 bulbs along a barren roadside - only for the flowers to be mown down by the council in the height of their beauty.
Chris Truett spent £200 on the tulips and daffodils which he dug into the empty grass strip beside Rotten Row - one of the most iconic streets in Southport. It took the 51-year-old eight days to plant the flowers on the mile-long verge, and they bloomed early this month.
But while they were in full flourish Sefton Council workers mowed them down as they cut the grass, leaving Chris gobsmacked. The joiner said: "I was heartbroken when I realised what had happened.
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"It's pure madness at a time when the council don't have the resources to plant bulbs themselves. They were in full bloom. All the council had to do was wait a few weeks, until the flowers had faded away. The grass wasn't even that long.
"I am absolutely gutted that all my hard work, planting thousands of bulbs out of my own money, has been for nothing. None of the people who live locally can believe it."
Rotten Row, which runs adjacent to Victoria Park, is famous for its floral displays but council cutbacks have meant volunteers are now relied on to tend the flowers. The Friends of Rotten Row maintain the beds on one side of the road, but the verge opposite was left empty until Chris undertook his mammoth task.
It took him eight weekends across October in 2020 and 2021 to plant 2,200 flowers. He bought a total of 30 bags of daffodil bulbs at £5 each and spent a further £40 on a bulb digger. He also forked out for 200 tulips.
Chris says his flowers were left alone in spring 2021 after he had a word with council workers. He assumed the same would happen this year, so he was dismayed when he turned up to do some litter picking on Saturday, March 19 to learn they'd been razed.
He believes they were cut down just days earlier. Chris added: "Other councils in the UK are planting flowers. Sefton Council is cutting them down.
"This is an act of vandalism and a pure smack in the face for me, as a volunteer who has spent my own time and money, trying to make the town look nice. Southport used to be absolutely beautiful. Over the years, it's really gone downhill as the council has invested less and less money.
"Rotten Row is a famous street in the town and used to look lovely. There were roses all along the verge, but the council couldn't afford to maintain them so they had to go.
"I live here, and I want people to continue to visit. That's why I spend time picking litter and planting flowers. I just want to brighten up Southport."
A spokesperson for Sefton Council's Green Sefton service said: "Firstly, we would like to say we fully appreciate Mr Truett's expenditure, time and effort and can understand his disappointment and that if he would like to contact us, we will arrange a reimbursement for the bulbs planted.
"We are fortunate in that Sefton is rich with individual volunteers, communities and organisations prepared to use their spare time to give back to the Borough by carrying out a range of events from litter pickings to organised plantings. We always welcome residents interested in volunteering but ask them to get in touch so we can work together to identify areas where flowers can and cannot be planted and to avoid unforeseen events like this.
"As Mr Truett correctly points out Rotten Row, was famous for its floral displays but reductions in Government funding have meant we no longer have the capacity to maintain these displays. Those same cutbacks mean that with limited maintenance resources, we do not have the machinery or staff required to hand-cut around the flowers in this area.
"We hope that in the future we can work with Mr Truett to enhance the area."
