ORGANISERS of the Darwen Civic Society annual bulb competition and exhibition enjoyed a bumper crop of entries for their 1999 show in the town's St John Ambulance Hall.

Green-fingered pupils from schools throughout Darwen have spent the last two months cultivating bulbs in preparation and Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen Coun Florence Oldfield was on hand to reward their efforts at a presentation ceremony.

Acting secretary of the society Jack Fisher said: "It's a very popular event and you can smell the perfume from the exhibits as soon as you enter the hall. This year was well supported, as usual, and the standard of entries was also high."

Results:

Best in show: 1, Jodie Gregson of Holy Trinity; 2, Charlotte Rickard and Ian Wearden, St Cuthberts; 3, Philip Rawlinson, St Barnabas.

Prize for the school with the best quality of overall entry: Holy Trinity. Best in School: Tockholes, 1, Rhiannon Ritchie, 2, Bronwen Ritchie. St Peters: 1, Katie Byrne, 2, Sarah Milner, 3, Adam Stanley. Ashleigh: 1, Jodie Bardsley, 2, Alex Aspden, 3, Christopher Holden. Sudell: 1, Claire Thompson, 2, Emma Sagar, 3, Lewis Connelly. St Josephs: 1, James Venguesdasalon, 2, Alex Davies, 3, Nicolle Wood. Avondale: 1, Hannah Clarke, 2, Gemma Brookes, 3, Gemma Franklin. St Barnabas: 1, Philip Rawlinson, 2, Nathan Sturgess, 3, James Knowles. St Cuthberts: 1, Charlotte Rickard and Ian Wearden, 2, Tayler Ellison-Quinn. Holy Trinity: 1 Jodie Gregson, 2, Heather Lucas, 3, Callum Meadows. St Pauls, Hoddlesden: 1, Marcus Aspden, 2, Lewis Stanley, 3, Yan Chan.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.