A PATCH of overlooked grass just metres away from the birthplace of Redditch icon John Bonham is being transformed into a ‘Bonham Birthplace Garden’.

Volunteers are helping to restore the greenspace in Headless Cross, known as the Rose Garden, which lies a stone’s throw away from his birthplace on Birchfield Road.

By pruning and weeding the land ready to replant it, the garden restoration project will be transformed into a memorial to the Led Zeppelin drummer, complete with a plaque.

Volunteer Ros Sidaway, from the John Bonham Memorial Fund, said: "John loved nature, so we hope to dedicate a small plaque to him amongst the roses.

“And who knows, maybe local people will start to call this the Bonham Birthplace Garden."

The garden restoration is part of the council-funded Bromsgrove and Redditch Open Spaces project, which supports volunteers in managing open spaces.

The scheme runs until April and is led by the Bromsgrove and Redditch Network.

Community gardener Alistair Waugh said: "There are plenty of popular pockets of greenspace in Redditch that can benefit from a makeover.

“We're getting local people to make those changes and to benefit from working together, taking pride and being in the fresh air."

Bonham, who would have turned 70 next year, was honoured with a blue plaque outside the home he was born in on Birchfield Road earlier this summer.