A letter to greenhouse guru turns up trumps

Two nine-year-old twins from Wakefield got their wish after writing to TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh for advice.

Finlay and Joseph Taylor wrote to their favourite gardener asking for information to help them in their own garden and greenhouse and were pleased to receive not only a reply, but a VIP invitation to come and meet Titchmarsh himself, according to the Wakefield Express.

The twins told the newspaper of their day with their hero and described how they planned to return his hospitality.

"We met him in his private dressing room at the BBC in London, where they film the show," Finlay explained.

"I told him when I grow up I want to be a gardener and he said I should go to college and then get a job in a nursery."

Joseph added that he had invited the TV star to come and visit their school any time he pleased.

The National Trust recently announced plans to turn some of its land into allotments to help the UK cope with the rising demand for places to grow food.