19th Century garden is reopened

Garden designer Roddy Llewellyn officially opened the restored gardens

A 19th Century garden has officially reopened after a £1m revamp.

The Grade II listed St Leonards Gardens in St Leonards, East Sussex were being opened by garden designer Roddy Llewellyn at a ceremony on Saturday.

As part of the Heritage Lottery funded plan, a mixture of new plants and trees have been introduced to ensure the gardens are colourful all year round.

Several events were planned for the opening day, including a tour of the gardens and children's play activities.

There was also afternoon tea, story telling and riddles, as well as an abridged performance of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.

St Leonards Gardens were designed by the British architect James Burton, and founded in 1828.

They were originally home to several private estates, before Hastings Corporation acquired them and opened them to the public in 1880.