A TEESSIDE town's entry into a floral competition was saved by a company that nearly destroyed all its hard work.

Vital gas mains work at the entrance to Saltburn meant a prominent grass verge was dug up.

So, just days before judges arrived from the Northumbria In Bloom competition, engineers from Transco laid some turf and added four tubs of flowers to help the town's entry to the competition.

Jackie Taylor, coordinator for Saltburn In Bloom, said: "Even though we understood Transco needed to carry out its work, we were heartbroken. The verge was the first thing the judges would have seen when they entered the town.

"People in Saltburn work really hard to make the town look as attractive as possible, and it would have been a real blow to our chances.

"The newly turfed verge looks even better than before they started work. We rely on the goodwill of so many businesses to help us create Saltburn's beautiful floral display, and the judges seemed really happy.

"We have now got our fingers crossed for the final result."

Mark Barr, operations manager for Transco Network, said: "We always do our best to leave areas in at least as good condition as we find them, but in this case the grass did not grow back in time.

"We were only too happy to put in a little extra effort for Saltburn. The town looks a real picture."