A MYSTERY donor has come to the aid of one of East Lothian’s hardest-working horticultural groups with a £3,000 gift.

The Courier revealed last week how Cockenzie and Port Seton In Bloom feared it may have to disband after 16 years of bringing colour to the community.

The group, whose members are a well-known sight with their Bloomers lorry and orange jackets, appealed for help finding new volunteers and new ways to raise funds in an increasingly tough market.

And over the weekend they were contacted by a local man who gave them the huge donation, which will guarantee them another year of brightening up the streets.

Group chairperson Marlene Love said: “The person who made the donation wants to remain anonymous but said he did not realise how tough things were for us until he read about it in the Courier and in the community newsletter.

“This makes a huge difference. It allows us to keep running our lorry and buy in spring bulbs to prepare for next year.

“We are incredibly grateful.” The In Bloom volunteers have been on the go since 1998 and have been responsible for creating several stunning gardens around the community on previously neglected or derelict land.

They helped create the Millenium Garden, Memorial Garden and the Secret Garden, as well as transforming the West Links and Port Seton Links with wave gardens at either end.

They also produce and maintain colourful planters and troughs in the streets each year.

However, Marlene has said last week that as the volunteers became older and supermarket chains challenged their ability to sell their bedding plants at competitive prices, the group faced a harsh reality that they might have to give up.

She had said: “We are all getting older and less able to do some of the gardening work. Instead we have to concentrate on raising funds to pay a gardener.

“The bottom has fallen out of our market for bedding plants due to competition from supermarkets selling them at ridiculously low prices, so fundraising has been more challenging, and we have been unable to recruit younger, more able volunteers.” But now the Bloomers hope the donation will give them the stepping stone they need to carry on for another year and into the future.

Anyone who wants to support In Bloom and get involved with the work they do can contact Marlene on 01875 811788.