Landscape gardener John Savings has become south of England national hedge laying champion - 15 years after his wife bought him a course on hedge laying as a Christmas present.

Mr Savings, of Netherton Road, Appleton, said: "My wife thought the gift would be a good way for me to learn more about hedge laying to help us in our landscape business. It was a gamble that paid off. More and more people are interested in restoring hedgerows and helping regenerate the environment."

At the national championships in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, Mr Savings, 56, was one of 96 cutters competing in seven different classes and he cut his way to the trophy for the south of England class.

He said: "It was tough going and I was up against some stiff competition.

"Each of us had a ten-yard stretch of hedgerow about 25ft-high to work on. It took me five hours to cut it back, clear it out and then lay the hedge in my own style.

"It is so important to protect the countryside, the habitation and wildlife. Hedgerows are home to so many species of birds and wildlife, and they form part of our heritage."

He said he owed much the late Ivan Burleigh from Brill.

Mr Savings's work has been praised by the Prince of Wales who was fascinated by his display of miniature hedgerows at the Country Landowners Association show in Bedfordshire in August.