Ref. 13969TEENAGERS equipped with spades and shovels have started work on the centrepiece of the Sensory Garden in Trowbridge.

There are plans to put a water feature at the heart of the garden behind the old Town Hall and youngsters from the town started digging a trench for a stream this week.

Several organisations have been involved with the Sensory Garden development, and this week it was the turn of conservation volunteers, headed up by a BTCV team and local volunteers from youth service, TAFF.

BTCV is Britain's largest practical conservation charity and is running a People's Places Award Scheme to help create and fund improvement projects like the water feature project in Trowbridge.

BTCV officer, Anthony Brown supervised the teenagers as they developed the plans for the water feature and got down to work.

He said: "A lot of the work this week could have been done by machines, but this way we have involved local teenagers, and it adds an element of community involvement which means people will really feel like the Sensory Garden is theirs when it's finished."

It's expected the water feature will take at least another two months to complete.

Mr Brown said: "The whole project has been funded by various different sources, but we will, in time, get our aim, which is to have a Sensory Garden for educational purposes which everyone can enjoy."