People come together to re-plant flowers that were pulled from their containers and thrown into River Freshney last month

Members of the community of all ages and walks of life joined forces over the weekend to re-plant more than 300 plants that were ripped out of their containers on Alexandra Dock last month. On Sunday, in true "make do and mend" fashion, the team from community interest company Target NEL, alongside other people, businesses and communities, met at Projekt Renewable in Grimsby to re-plant the flowers and show that the vandalism will not deter them. It comes after staff arrived at Projekt Renewable one morning in September to find that the plants - which were planted in containers along the River Freshney by more than 100 children as part of the Plant & Paddle initiative - had been ripped out and thrown into the water below.

But rather than being deterred by the mindless act of vandalism, community groups and members of the public banded together to organise 'The Big Replant' event . Projekt Director, Richard Askam, said: “I was lost for words after the initial incident, but this act has brought the community together in a way we could have only hoped for. Alexandra Dock is looking bright and beautiful once again thanks to the community's efforts (Image: Target NEL CIC) “People may well be quick to say ‘Well, what did you expect’, but if no-one tries, nothing will change.



We will keep replanting, and keep working to make our pocket of Grimsby something special for the very people who created these planters in the first place." Many of the children who were involved in the summer initiative came along to Sunday's event to re-plant the plants for a second time. Joanne Lord, founder and CEO of Target NEL CIC, told Grimsby Live: "After the heartbreaking destruction caused by individuals at Alexandra Dock, who thought it was a good idea to uproot over 300 plants that more than 100 children had carefully planted over the summer, the community united in an inspiring show of solidarity.

Together, they replanted and restored the space, making it beautiful once more. Children and their families got stuck in to help (Image: Target NEL CIC) "It was incredibly moving to witness the cross-generational support as children dug into the soil with their bare hands, while parents and grandparents joined in, helping with the planting. The sense of unity and shared purpose was truly heartwarming.

"Special mention for Frank, the North Wall Cleaner , who arrived early and helped set up the refreshment tent with his volunteer. Those helping the community were Stevie from Creating Positive Opportunity (CPO) and Sands and Sheena from We Are Fish. "Also getting their hands dirty were the amazing gardeners, Hannah and Martin, from Out of the Box, and Jim the Canoe River Cleaner who delivered throughout the summer project that was presented by PRG and hosted by TARGET NEL.

"Sunday was a special day for Grimsby.".