SALES of a beautiful new dahlia have raised £1,900 to support the work of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

The dahlia, Westerton Ella Grace, is being sold by Halls of Heddon and was bred by brothers Gordon and Harold Hodgson from Binchester, near Bishop Auckland.

Halls of Heddon is one of the country’s leading dahlia and chrysanthemum nurseries and each year introduces a number of new varieties on behalf of amateur breeders.

Those breeders, like the Hodgson brothers, are entitled to a royalty payment based on the number of plants sold in the first year of introduction.

However, they requested the money earned through the Westerton Ella Grace dahlia be donated to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

Gordon, who has been breeding dahlias since 2009, said: “I’ve always been interested in the garden and I love the colour and variety of dahlias. They create an oasis of colour.

“Ella Grace is a tall, strong variety. For the exhibitors, it’s the form of this dahlia they like. It’s round and has good petal formation. But it’s gone out to a variety of people and lots have just wanted it for their gardens because they love the colour.

“This is the third time Harold and I have chosen to donate money raised through our flowers to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. We’ve both suffered from cancer so it feels like the right thing to do.”

Halls of Heddon was founded in 1921 and remains a family business. Run by a team including husband and wife, Dave and Sue Hall, the nursery sent out more than 70,000 plants this year.

Gordon named Westerton Ella Grace after the Halls’ great niece.

It is the ninth dahlia they have bred and sold commercially, and it has been the best-selling variety for Halls this year.