Prison given award for garden and greenhouse facilities

A Derbyshire prison where the inmates help to grow their own food and tend to a garden and greenhouses has won an award.

HM Prison Foston Hall has scooped the prestigious Windlesham Trophy thanks to the work of staff and 20 prisoners, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) revealed.

Introduced in 1983 by the then head of the parole board Lord Windlesham, the gong is handed out every year to the prison with the best garden in England and Wales.

The trophy is made from an old bell from a Green Goddess fire engine and is much sought after by institutes across the country.

Foston Hall has its own garden with a conifer collection, fruit trees and tomatoes, peppers, fennel and aubergines.

Furthermore, it features greenhouses where inmates are able to grow fresh fruit and vegetables in a controlled environment.

Governor Greg Riley-Smith accepted the award from RHS president Elizabeth Banks on August 18th and said that it represented "a real accolade for both staff and prisoners".

Since the garden was introduced, the number of incidents involving violence and self harm has seen a marked drop, he added.

In other news, Changing Rooms star Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen will be at RHS Garden Wisley on Wednesday (August 25th) to open the display garden he designed for Agriframes.