DIAMOND Jubilees, Clarence Houses and Royal Williams will soon be blooming in Whittlesey after the refurbishment of the town’s Memorial Gardens.

The three special types of rose are now growing in the gardens, alongside a host of other shrubs planted as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Graffiti has been removed and the walls have been refurbished in the �4,000 renovation.

Councillor Kay Mayor, Mayor of Whittlesey, opened the new rose garden by planting a tree this morning.

She said: “I didn’t think this was going to happen as quickly as it has.

“A lot of people like to call this the Straw Bear Garden but it is really a garden of rest - and it’s now looking wonderful.”

The gates are set to be refurbished during a second phase of work. There will also be boards containing photographs and stories which describe the history of the gardens.

Bob Ollier, parks and open spaces manager at Fenland District Council, said: “When a place goes into decline you get graffiti and vandalism but if you raise the standard people start to have more respect.

“They start to get a sense of ownership of these places.”