A REDDITCH student is celebrating after the garden which he helped specialist designer Adam Frost to build scooped a gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Adam Wearing, aged 35, of Lodge Park, alongside 19 others work tirelessly to construct the Homebase Urban Retreat Garden at the five day garden show.

Mr Wearing is currently a pupil in the Homebase Garden Academy and is working full-time at his local store helping customers with their gardening dilemmas.

He said: “I have had a passion for landscape gardening.

“It is the cherry on the cake really being part of the academy and getting the opportunity to help build a garden at the flower show.

“Whilst on the garden build we worked 13 hours a day, the work is very rewarding.

“Having won the gold award makes it all worthwhile.”

Those working on the garden have beaten over 1,300 candidates for a place in the academy training programme.

The scheme runs for 12 months and offers young people the opportunity to develop their gardening skills, learn practical horticultural skills to earn them a RHS Level 1 Award qualification in addition to working alongside award-winning gardener designer Adam Frost.

Mr Frost said: "This is the second year we have run the Garden Academy training programme and I’m delighted to be involved again in such a rewarding scheme.

“Attracting young people into careers in gardening is increasingly challenging. By working with Homebase, we have the opportunity to do something special and inspire the next generation of gardeners.”

Matthew Compton, Homebase garden trading director, said: “As one of the UK’s leading garden retailers, we are committed to championing horticulture as a great career choice, and we are excited to welcome our second intake of Garden Academy students to what we know will be a great start to their careers.”

The garden has been built in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support.