The borough looked bloomin’ great on Tuesday as judges for the London in Bloom competition visited.

The judges visited a number of beauty hotspots, including Raphael Park and Bedfords Park Walled Garden in Havering-Atte-Bower, before finishing at the Town Hall, in Main Road, Romford. where they met the Mayor of Havering, Cllr Philippa Crowder and Cllr Melvin Wallace.

The borough was selected from more than 600 entrants to compete in the “city” category and faces opposition including Tower Hamlets, Oldham and Aberdeen.

The tour ended outside the town hall, where judges were able to admire the floral carpet bed planted in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday.

Last year, the borough was crowned champion of London in Bloom, winning 47 of the 193 titles, which Cllr Wallace, the cabinet member for culture and community engagement, said was due to the borough’s natural beauty.

He said: “It was great having the judges back in the borough for London in Bloom, to show them the true beauty of Havering. The judges were happy with all the floral details placed throughout the borough and we hope to achieve the same or better results than last year.

“If you’re out and about in the borough I’d encourage you to keep it clean and enjoy all the flowers”.

The results will be announced on September 21.