A GARDENERS' market held at the same venue for 14 years has been forced out by increasing insurance costs.

The market has been held every month during the summer at the United Reformed Church hall, Malvern Link, since it was founded.

But organisers can no longer afford the insurance, which has ballooned to £40 per event.

Margaret Stone, one of the organisers, said: "We just started out as a group of gardeners who wanted to sell their surplus plants.

"The cost of the insurance was just too much for us. Organisations like the WI have insurance through their central headquarters, but we're not a big organisation like that. The church just can't afford the insurance either; it's not their fault."

Luckily for the market organisers, they have found another venue that already has the correct insurance, enabling them to carry on.

The market will resume after the winter break at Powick Parish Hall, on March 5.

"We just hope people will come and see us in Powick," said Mrs Stone. "A lot of people come on foot because they visit us when they do their shopping in Malvern Link."

The last ever gardeners' market at the church hall will be held tomorrow (Saturday) from 9.30am to 1pm.

"We hope to make it a bumper event with a lot of people coming along," said Mrs Stone.

The group's other monthly market, in St Katherine's Hall, Ledbury, is unaffected.