HAULAGE firm Prestons of Potto has again won a trophy for its colourful displays of flowers.

The company's head office and warehouses near Hutton Rudby, are decorated with a multitude of blooms including roses, fuchsias, geraniums, lilies, busy lizzies, marigolds and sweet peas.

This week, the Yorkshire Tourist Board announced that Prestons had won the larger business category of the floral contest - the company's seventh such win.

Prestons' flowers are looked after by Mr Denis Ward, a wagon driver and warehouseman who joined the company in 1968. He has worked under three generations of the Preston family. Although he left for a while, he returned ten years ago. Despite the repeated success of his flower displays, he remained modest about his talents.

"The flowers come from seeds which I plant in the firm's greenhouse. The flowers seem to do pretty well and don't take much effort - I only spend between six and ten hours a week looking after them," said Mr Ward, of Central Way, Great Ayton.

"I've got a garden at home which looks just the same. My father, Fred, is a really keen gardener. He's got thousands of flowers in his garden at Great Broughton." In addition to growing and tending the flowers, Mr Ward made the hanging baskets which contain them.

Mrs Anne Preston, company chairman, attended the Yorkshire in Bloom awards ceremony at Hull on Tuesday, where she receive a trophy and certificate.

She praised Mr Ward for his work, saying: "Denis has been brilliant. He thought up the ideas and has put in a lot of hard work. Some big firms have full time gardeners and local authorities like Darlington or Harrogate have armies of them! But we don't. Denis is just a part time gardener but his displays are brilliant.

"We are really pleased with this award. Yorkshire and Humberside is a big area with lots of firms but when people come to our site at Potto, they often remark on our flowers.

"We have some wonderful flowers here. They look outstanding, even though it has been quite windy. My favourites are the lilies and fuchsias. My office is covered in flowers - I could spend most of my salary on them!"