Ten Yorkshire gardeners handed apprenticeships

A team of ten Yorkshire horticulture lovers will spend the next two years picking up gardening tips after being accepted on a parks and open spaces apprenticeship programme.

The chosen few were whittled down from 160 applicants and will now work towards an NVQ Level 2 in amenity horticulture.

Programme coordinator Steve Taylor explained that after a week of going through health and safety matters, the recruits couldnt wait to begin learning.

They will work with the Kirklees Parks and Open Spaces team, located near Huddersfield.

"Our full-time staff have been really supportive of this scheme and people in the parks are already remarking that it is so good to see young apprentices being taken on," Mr Taylor said.

He added the apprentices will benefit from working in a number of environments – from a golf course to a garden nursery.

Meanwhile, staff at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden Wisley in Surrey recently performed a clean-up operation of the village and surrounding area to help protect the environment.