Isle of Wight gardeners show innovative streak

Inventors on the Isle of Wight have come up with some innovative ideas for use in gardens and greenhouses in a recent competition.

Writing in the Isle of Wight County Press, Richard Wright revealed he was torn between two devices when he was judging the contest.

Eventually, he decided Digby Curtis’s garden frame would take the top prize.

Mr Curtis’s creation consists of a simple frame made from right-angle brackets at each corner reinforced by 45 degree corner strips and covered with chicken wire.

"A collection of these can be used for numerous jobs around the garden. You can put them together as a portable rabbit fence around your cabbages etc, stretching netting over the top against pigeons," the inventor explained.

Second prize went to Pete Clayton, whose apple picker – made from a plastic milk bottle attached to a six-foot handle – was deemed "highly efficient".

Gardening expert Imogen Checketts recently told the Norwich Evening News that gardening is great for people of all ages and can enhance wellbeing