GREEN-FINGERED teenagers welcomed two garden celebrities to their refurbished allotment patch yesterday.

The transformation of a previously overgrown quarter-acre site attracted the presence of an MP, a city's mayor, and TV characters of a bygone era, Bill and Ben.

Fabled figures from the early days of children's television, The Flowerpot Men were mainstays of Watch With Mother, a favourite programme for a generation of small screen viewers.

Bill and Ben joined Houghton and Washington MP Fraser Kemp and Sunderland's Mayor, Councillor Juliana Heron, at the launch of an allotment scheme by the children and young people's charity Barnardo's.

Thirty-two teenagers from former coalfield areas spanning the Sunderland/Durham county boundary have taken part in the garden project.

Backed by local businesses, they have transformed the rundown plot since moving on site late last summer.

A variety of fruit, flowers and vegetables, have been planted, from raspberries and strawberries, to potatoes, beans, beetroot, cauliflowers, onions and herbs.

The gardeners, all aged 13 and over, hope to enjoy the fruits of their labour later this growing season when they harvest the first produce.

Barnardo's worker Audrey Bewick said the scheme has helped the youngsters to learn about everything from healthy eating, horticulture and environmental issues.

"They were hampered by the weather until recently, but there's been a dramatic change in the last few weeks, it's really starting to take off."