ON the 50th year a Trowbridge couple have been married, a picnic bench has been set up in Trowbridge Park to thank them for all the work they have done to improve the place.

For the best part of 25 years, Mike and Phyllis Prior, of Ashton Street, have been donating funds to the park and planting flowers and trees to make it a more attractive spot.

This has included planting a Spanish Sweet Chestnut, daffodils, patches of wild grass and more recently with Friends of Trowbridge Park, putting in a wild flower meadow.

So to thank them for their support, the unsuspecting couple were led to the park, where a brand new picnic bench had been installed, with a plaque on it, to thank them for their generosity.

"We were gobsmacked by it. It is such a touching thing to do but it was so unexpected," said Mr Prior, who owns Print Management in Court Street.

"For our 50th anniversary, we have been donating money to the park group, the museum and town hall. It is important to take pride in the place you live, I think, so it was nice planting things here and seeing them grow. I want to thank everyone who did this as it is a lovely thing to do."

Chairman of Friends of Trowbridge Park, Sharl Adabashi, said: "These two are a credit to the community so it was great that we could show our gratitude."