A FORMER curator and lecturer at Cannington College has scooped a prestigious award for his colourful display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Roy Cheek, from Wembdon, won the gold medal for the best exhibit in any RHS show, for his Anthurium Flamingo flower display at the summer show last year.

His exotic exhibit, entered for Mauritius, was judged the best out of the winners in all seven shows.

He told the Mercury: “I was so surprised because this was so long after the Chelsea show.

“It is a great honour as there is only one award like this each year.”

Roy told the Mercury last summer how he had taken over as co-ordinator and planner for Mauritius as they had never won anything at the show before, before scooping gold.

He added: “Now I have won this award as well - and I cannot recall anyone else from Somerset winning this in recent memory.”

Roy worked for 20 years as a senior lecturer in horticulture at Cannington, which is now part of Bridgwater College.

He can count television gardener Charlie Dimmock among his pupils and he attends the RHS Chelsea show every other year as a judge.

Now retired, he leads international garden and botanical holidays across the globe, exploring and studying gardens from South America to the Baltics.