Weather nearly runs station garden project off the rails

He and his wife Linda are busy organising their entry for this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World show at the NEC, Birmingham, next month and have high hopes of success.

But Mr Nichols, a soon-to-retire NHS worker, said his Station Master’s Garden which borrows heavily on themes from ITV’s Heartbeat has been a tricky project to manage because of the over-clement weather.

He said: “I have grown 300 to 400 plants but because of the warm weather some of them have flowered too early while others have not flowered at all.

“Despite that everything is going to plan with the pipe wagon, which weighs several tonnes, due to be delivered from North Yorkshire Moors Railway at Pickering to Birmingham as well as a seat and 1950s-style trolley in addition to railway sleepers from Doncaster.

North Yorkshire Moors Railway and Trackwork of Doncaster are sponsoring the couple’s exhibition which will go on show from June 15-19.

Prior to that members of the Royal Horticultural Society will judge the exhibits. Asked how he thought they would do, Mr Nichols said: “They are a funny lot at the RHS so who knows?”