MORE than 7,000 bluebell bulbs which were planted in a field near Clent have been dug up after investigations proved they were of the Spanish instead of the native British variety.
After a Clent Parish Council meeting, Dr Richard Lester, a botanist at Birmingham University, was called in and confirmed the plants were Spanish.
One thousand pounds worth of blooms, planted at the side of Centenary Field in Holy Cross, were promptly dug up after concerned Clent residents feared the bulbs would cross breed and wipe out the British variety.
Despite reassurance from the suppliers that they were of the correct origins, council chairman Margaret Sherrey believes it was a genuine error.
She said: " The bulbs will be replaced but we will have to wait till next season now.
"We fear cross contamination as the bluebells may have dropped some seeds."
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