A GARDEN used by disabled people and school children is blooming, thanks to the growing ambition of a group of students.

The boys from The King's Academy, in Coulby Newham, have been digging, weeding, building and planting to transform an overgrown patch at the nearby Lingfield Countryside Centre.

Visitors can now view their handiwork and enjoy the floral displays along wheelchair-friendly pathways the boys have built.

Thomas Batey, 15, who is now considering a career in horticulture, said: "A few of us were getting into trouble at school, so we were put on a course to work at different places, mainly doing hedge-trimming and painting fences.

"When we came to the countryside centre, they asked if we wanted to help make the garden better for people who have disabilities. It was a bigger challenge than anything we'd done before. For the first couple of weeks, we just had to dig, then we started building the raised flowerbeds."

David Porritt, 15, added: "It looked horrible before. It was full of grass and overgrown, like a forest really."

George Wardle, 15, built a bench and wrote to local garden centres - Strikes, Plantorama, Rainbow Nurseries and Peter Barratt's - successfully appealing for donations of plants, bulbs and compost.

Other boys on the team were Liam Darby, 14, Liam Dawes and Ben Forbes, both 15, and Brian Lesko and Joseph McKenna, both 16.

Richard Buckley, project assistant at the countryside centre, said: "They've been smashing lads and they've worked really hard to improve the garden for our visitors."

Any organisations or businesses needing help with projects can contact the academy on 01642-577577.