HUNDREDS of pounds worth of damage has been caused in Alcester after a suspected hit and run accident destroyed several hanging baskets.

For the sixth time in four weeks "bad" drivers have damaged poles holding up the baskets in the town centre.

In the latest in a series of incidents, a motorist is believed to have driven into the pole holding up several hanging baskets in Church Street, causing them to fall to the floor.

One resident said he saw the crash and asked the driver if they were okay, but they drove off.

The damage will cost about £200 to replace, but Alcester in Bloom, which organise putting up the flowers in the town every summer, cannot get individual poles fixed and so are faced with leaving areas less floral than usual.

Alcester in Bloom chairman Maggie Payne said she was "disgusted" at the "bad drivers".

She said: "The poles are screwed down with bolts so for them to be damaged they must have been hit with a lot of force.

"The baskets are each sponsored in memory of loved ones so for them to have been destroyed- it’s sad.

"People look forward to the flowers going up.

"If they have telephoned me to let me know, I would have appreciated it but to just drive off, it’s cowardly."

She added that on numerous occasions residents had witnessed people backing into the pole and told them to stop.

As a precaution, following previous incidents, the poles were painted blue rather than black in an attempt to make them more visible.

Alcester in Bloom, which has 100 hanging baskets and 50 planters around the town, are no longer competing in competitions but still continue to make the town look its best over the summer months.