A group of committed South Woodford volunteers have continued their good work in transforming a local green space.

The Friends of Elmhurst Gardens joined with Redbridge Vision’s Nature Conservation Team to fill out the boundary hedge and tidy the flowerbed at the park in Fosters Close on Saturday.

The community group was formed five years ago when 13-year-old Jodie Marriott-Baker wrote to the then Prime Minister Tony Blair to complain about the area’s dilapidated condition.

A public consultation followed, with volunteers working with Redbridge Council and local councillors to turn it around.

Jodie’s mother, group chair Claire Marriott, said: “It had lots of graffiti, a bit of vandalism, the flower beds looked untidy and the playground was in disrepair.

“We have turned the park around and it’s now in the third year of having a Green Flag award.”

Members planted dog rose, shrubs and hawthorns and a Mulberry tree.

The hedge screens noise from the adjacent A406 and is a nesting habitat for birds, with the group hopeful of attracting hedgehogs there too.

The Friends will hold an Easter Egg hunt in Elmhurst Gardens on March 24 followed by a mosaic creation event at Mill Grove, Crescent Road, South Woodford.

For information, visit www.friendsofelmhurstgardens.webeden.co.uk/.