Firefighters from Falmouth dug in and showed their support for people living with or experiencing dementia as they helped with the planting of a new flowerbed at Gyllyngdune Gardens on Wednesday.

Members of black watch got stuck in to support Falmouth Dementia Action Alliance and the Dementia Friends initiative, as the venue seeks to become a more welcoming place for people with the disease.

Staff from the gardens and firefighters were joined by members of the alliance, giving a breath of fresh air and some social time to people with an illness that can often leave people feeling isolated or housebound.

Princess Pavilion and Gyllyngdune Gardens is doing all it can to become a dementia friendly venue, and Jacqui Owen, visitor and education officer, the aim was for those with dementia "to feel there's a friendly face if they come here."

She said: "We feel it's really important to make it dementia friendly, to make people feel safe and not feel embarrassed."

The volunteers were wearing blue forget-me-not badges, a symbol for the action alliance, which has found a lot of support from Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service.

Fireman Mark Goodfellow said the service was working closely to help those with dementia, as it had recently seen a lot of call outs related to the illness.

He said: "People can start cooking and forget they have done it, or put an electric kettle on a gas hob.

He added that calls which had previously been thought to be hoaxes are now understood sometimes to be caused by people with dementia, and said: "We're looking further into that, it's something we might want to follow through and make sure people have got the support [they need]."

For information on the Falmouth Dementia Action Alliance, organised by Bob and Toops Bridges, contact Bob on bob.bridges@btinternet.com.