Halstead will be aiming to make it ten golds in a row when the Anglia in Bloom judges visit later today.

Halstead In Bloom has worked tirelessly throughout the last few months to ensure every floral display, park and street is looking its best.

Judges will be given a tour of the town as they decide whether to nominate Halstead as the best town in Anglia in Bloom for a tenth successive year and award them another gold gong.

Halstead in Bloom chairman Margaret Eskins says though the dry weather has made preparations difficult for this year’s competition, volunteers have done all they can to win gold again.

She said: “It’s been a hard few weeks. It’s been too warm and too dry.

“We’ve got a licence to take water from the river so we have a little pump that we use to fill up containers that we then take all around the town.

“The willingness of the volunteers has been great. We couldn’t do it without them or the support from the whole town.”

She added: “We have been so fortunate for so many years that you think it can’t go on, someone is going to beat us.

“If we were to win again this year it would be ten golds in a row and that would be amazing not just for the team, but for the whole town. We are doing our best to win.”

As well as competing in the Anglia in Bloom town category, Halstead is also seeking to succeed in other categories.

Halstead Public Gardens has once again been put forward for best five to ten acres park, having won the award last year.

School projects and individual gardens will also be judged and could win separate awards.

Joan Gibson, who has been an integral part of Halstead in Bloom for 20 years, says the town should be proud of its efforts and insists the hard work is not all for the judges.

She said: “It isn’t just about the flowers you can see. It’s everything going on behind the scenes like all of the cleaning, weeding, litter picking and youngsters helping in the schools. I certainly think people have been more concious and have helped out with litter picking this year.

“The hard work isn’t all for the judges, it’s for the town and everybody’s well being.”

The results of this year’s Anglia in Bloom competition will be announced at the annual awards ceremony in Bury St Edmunds on Wednesday, September 12.