A pyramid of brightly painted old tyres filled with flowers is one of the eye-catching displays that villagers in Benwick are hoping will bring them success in this year’s Anglia in Bloom competition.

Called the Oscar David Flowering Display, it is the local Neighbourhood Watch group’s contribution to the village’s entry and is named after a little boy born just two months ago.

The group said: “Oscar was born with health issues and Down’s Syndrome during our planning of this project. He is doing very well and we hope that like our flowers he will bloom.”

The bright colours are designed to appeal to the younger children of the village.

The group added: “We feel we have achieved this when a mum commented that her autistic son says he loves it.”

More tyres, planted with red and white roses, have been used to form a boundary around the site, which is an old haulage yard that has been neglected for years.

The site on Doddington Road was one of those examined by Anglia in Bloom judges Nolan Mills and Margaret Albinson on Monday.

Others included the primary school, where they admired the pupils’ gardening efforts, a couple of displays by the village’s Scouts and Beavers and the old churchyard.

Benwick won a silver award in the small village category last year.

Last week Mr Mills accompanied a different judge, Nigel Bloxham, to Parson Drove, which last year was the overall winner in Anglia in Bloom’s large village category, gaining a silver gilt award.

Among the highlights of their tour were various displays by the children at Alderman Payne primary school commemorating the centenary of the First World War.

They included a re-creation of a trench, complete with sandbags, barbed wire and a helmet.

The judges were shown round by two pupils, Jack Fowler and Emily Braginton. They also visited the village pond.