MORE than 2,500 visitors flocked to a spectacular and successful Golden Jubilee flower festival at St Michael and All Angels' Church in Ledbury.

Tourists from as far afield as Canada, New Zealand, Poland and America joined Britons in leaving comments of astonishment in the visitors' book.

The floral extravaganza ran for four days, from Saturday to Bank Holiday Tuesday, and around £4,000 was raised through programme sales and donations.

The final tally is still being calculated but the money will go to the Church Repair Fund.

Organiser Judy Street, of Progress Close, said: "It's about what I was hoping for. The church did look stunning and there was a very happy atmosphere. Two visitors even said that we made Chelsea look amateur!

"A lot of people found the whole thing uplifting. Everyone worked so hard. We had more than 60 flower arrangers and over 100 people must have helped. It was a real community effort."

Plans are now being laid to hold a flower festival on this scale every five years in Ledbury.

Mrs Street believes that a festival twice every decade would keep the standard high.

The Golden Jubilee festival was two years in the planning and around £2,000 had to be raised through events including the Civic Walk, coffee mornings, quizzes and sponsorship.

The town council came up with a £200 grant towards the event, which consisted of over 30 separate floral displays.

Some of these, like the popular maypole, were of a very large scale.

Local organisations, from Ledbury in Bloom through to the Scouts and Mothers' Union, all picked lines from hymns to illustrate with flowers on the general theme of "Raise the Roof".

One impressed visitor was the former mayoress of Ledbury, Mrs Jill Jupp, who said: "The flower displays were spectacular, colourful, imaginative and inspiring.

"If there were any thoughts that Ledbury lacked enthusiasm for the Golden Jubilee, this will surely dispel them.

"We can be justifiably proud of our town's contribution to Her Majesty's celebrations."