A TADPOLE Garden Village horticulture group has transformed the village's woodland area with decorations for a national competition.

Bug hotels, mini fairy houses, bunting, washing lines and crocheted doors have been added along the woodland trail.

TGV in Bloom took on the 'Little Wood' project as part of its efforts to win a Britain in Bloom award. The gardening competition encourages community groups to freshen up their town or city.

Volunteer Kerry Barrass came up with the idea when she noticed two pallets dumped in the wood.

She said: "I had this crazy idea that I could make them into the bones of a bug hotel and it sort of snowballed from there. I've got a wacky imagination and wanted to add fairy elements around the hotel."

Children from the Seventh Swindon Scout group got involved in the fun and created the bug hotel from the pallets, bamboo sticks and twigs so woodlice, beetles, snails and spiders could make the space their home.

Kerry said: "We tried to keep the project relatively low-key. It was for the community and we thought that organic awareness was the best.

"We wanted the kids to discover it and we also hoped we could keep it safe.

"It's a sad thing to say, but we wanted to make sure it was loved. If you win people's hearts and minds, they tend to look after things and become part of it.

"People have called out the dog fouling and helped clear it up. We get a huge amount of thanks from local residents."

The group received a silver award in 2019 awards ceremony and are looking to repeat or better that success.