A KEEN Upton-upon-Severn gardener will be getting a helping hand with his plants this year... from worms.

Berrick Walton won a wormery after his father Tony put his name forward in a Worcestershire County Coun-cil recycling competition on the radio station Classic Hits.

Mr Walton did not know he had been entered for the competetion until he was told he had won.

"It was a total surprise but I've already set the wormery up and it's going really well," he said.

"I'm really quite pleased. Well done, dad!"

Mr Walton said the wormery would save him money by providing a steady supply of good quality organic compost for his garden.

Worms can naturally compost anything that has lived and died, with the best results coming from a good supply of organic waste such as vegetable peelings and stale bread.

Council composting development officer Nicola Blight said wormeries were a good way to help protect the environment.

"Thirty per cent of household waste is organic and can be recycled, so by using a wormery, people reduce the waste dumped in landfill sites," she said.

Wormeries are an efficient way to compost waste where space is limited.