A FLORAL tribute to a community's mining past could salvage its chances in a regional competition to find the most attractive villages.
Residents of Fishburn were devastated last weekend when thoughtless vandals wrecked displays of bedding plants and flower pots created by local people including children.
The colourful arrangements had been planted for the Fishburn in Bloom project to brighten up the village and to help the area's bid for a Northumbria in Bloom prize.
With judges due to arrive early next month, the village's efforts have received a late boost from The Coal Authority, which has donated two tubs of flowers to the community.
Dedicated to the memory of men who worked in the former Fishburn pit, which closed in 1973, the tubs have been installed next the pit gates, in West Terrace, and outside the Miners' Welfare Hall.
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