Council workers and community volunteers pulled out all the stops to impress the South West in Bloom judges during a whistle-stop tour of Falmouth last week.

They are now all keeping their fingers' crossed as they have to wait until the awards ceremony to be held in Taunton in October to find out if they have been successful again this year.

The judges' tour began at Pendennis Castle where they were greeted by a number of town representatives including PC Mat Cummins, mayor Grenville Chappel, BID manager Richard Wilcox, Nigel Rutter from Cory and Jacqui Owen, visitor and community engagement officer for Falmouth Town Council in partnership with Cormac.

A tour of the seafront followed, including Queen Mary Gardens where children from St Mary's School joined them, and then it was onto Boscawen Fields, Swanpool beach and nature reserve, the allotments at Swanvale, Tregoniggie Woods, Kimberley Park, where pupils from Falmouth Primary Academy attended, Earle's Retreat and finally Gyllyngdune Gardens.

At the final stop, volunteers from various organisations who have played a part in the upkeep of numerous gardens and open spaces, were invited to join the judges for a buffet lunch. These included representatives from Falmouth Fire Station, Falmouth and Penryn's memory cafes, Dementia Friends, Penryn College, Constantine School and other volunteers.

After the official tour for the South West in Bloom awards, the judges visited Falmouth Primary Academy and King Charles School who are in the running for It's Your Neighbourhood Awards.

Speaking afterwards Jacqui Owen said: "It has been a fantastic opportunity for everybody to show off all the hard work they have put in over the year and for them to get the recognition they all deserve. What strikes me when everyone comes together to meet the judges is just how broad the reach is across the community.

"They all work together to make Falmouth the amazing place it is. So many people comment on not just how beautiful the place is, but also on how warm and welcoming the place is. The feedback from the judges was that they were really pleased with everything they saw and we had a lovely email afterwards thanking us for the really warm welcome from the whole community."