WHEN my partner Sky Plus-ed this, I genuinely thought I was going to be watching yet another programme about the joys of nurturing organic veg.

It actually turned out to be a quality low-key small-budget British drama, this time about a group of people on a Merseyside allotment of which a number of plots have been earmarked for asylum seekers who have experienced trauma on the way to their new lives.

Thrown into the mix are a mobile phone company which wants to install a mast on the site, a bit of racism, plenty of love and allotment rebel Kenny.

Benedict Wong is brilliant as Kung Sang, who has withdrawn into himself so much that he now longer speaks and his two young children are his only voice.

Allotment boss John is keen to ensure the mast goes on the site of one of the asylum seekers, but as the characters interact and get to know each other, the balance of power begins to shift.

Partly based on a genuine project undertaken in Liverpool, this film was produced by former bassist with The Farm, Carl Hunter, who, as was not always the case with his former band, does an excellent job.

Richard Laxton’s direction is sympathetic and allows the change in the relationships to slowly unfold in a story that — be it set in a school, the workplace or on a sports field — we more or less witness in some form every day.