OXFORD in Bloom contestant Betty Fletcher collapsed with stomach pains on the day of the awards ceremony and missed the big occasion.

Staff at the Churchill Hospital in Headington found she had a kidney infection and the pensioner was not allowed to return to her home in Stockleys Road, on the Northway estate, Headington, for five days.

When she was discharged, she immediately called Lord Mayor Mary Clarkson to apologise for missing the awards ceremony, at the Roman Way Sports and Social Club in Cowley on September 17.

It was only then that the grandmother found out that she had won the gold award in the Disabled Entrant category.

And competition organisers visited her at home to hand over the trophy.

Mrs Fletcher, 68, who suffers from arthritis and brittle bones, said: “I was getting ready to go to the awards when I collapsed and had to go to hospital.

“At first they didn’t know what was wrong with me, but then they found it was a kidney infection and now I am on the mend.

“I was so disappointed to miss the ceremony and I was due to fly out to Tenerife the next day for a two-week break – which also had to be cancelled.”

She added: “I am delighted to have won this award after taking part in Oxford in Bloom for the past 10 years, but it has been quite an effort and I think this year could be my last.”

Mrs Fletcher thanked her 81-year-old neighbour, Dennis Hulcup, for helping her with the garden, which features begonias, clematis, honeysuckle, geraniums, petunias, lilies, marigolds and busy lizzies.

Earlier this year, Mrs Fletcher had a row with the city council after it installed a fence around the communal garden outside her home.

Although Mrs Fletcher requested the fence, after it arrived she said it was too big and asked for it to be removed. The council refused.

She said: “I think I did very well to win the award this year because now the fence has gone up, some of the plants are straining to see the sunshine.

“It does get hard to do the garden as you get older – I was struggling with my watering cans this year.”

Mrs Fletcher said her son Royston, 46, who works for Network Rail, and two granddaughters Hannah, 19, and Sophie, 21, were among the first to congratulate her on her achievement.

There were more than 600 entries in this year’s Oxford in Bloom contest, with 250 gardeners attending the awards ceremony.

The contest, which is run by the city council’s parks department and backed by the Oxford Mail, is in its 21st year.