Blind schoolboy wins national gardening award

A 12-year-old from Impington Village College has won the title of Young Blind Gardener of the Year.

Elliot Rogers was awarded the gong by Thrive, a charity that seeks to help people with illness or disabilities by introducing them to the benefits of gardening, reports the Times.

Young Elliot has become a dab hand in his schools garden and even sells tubs of flowers that he has grown.

Among his many talents in the garden he also grows his own vegetables and knows his way around the school greenhouse, despite having been blinded by a life-saving operation at the age of five.

But the spunky gardener is revelling in his new-found fame and, according to his mother is not shy of reminding his brothers and sisters of his achievement.

"Its given him status among his siblings and its given him self-assurance," she told the newspaper.

"He can say: Im not a poor person with a disability; Ive got something to offer.

"Hes got a real talent for gardening and its made him think about what he wants to be."

Thrive is a national charity and aims to promote the benefits of gardening to those with disabilities and illnesses such as Alzheimers.