FLORAL displays in Sidmouth have been given a tasty twist this year – with vegetables being planted alongside blooms.

Residents have been told they can eventually tuck into treats like small butternut squash, tumbling tomatoes, parsley and kale among the marigolds at a plot near the Roxburgh car park.

They can even pick rhubarb at the pinch point in Station Road.

The food, planted last month as part of an ‘edible Britain’ theme, is currently covered and off-limits while it grows.

Hard-working Sidmouth in Bloom volunteers are behind the initiative.

Townsfolk have been asked to act responsibly when it is ready to be consumed.

“It’s receiving lots of good comments and it’s good to have something different,” said bloom chairman Lynette Talbot. “People can pick the veg as long as they do so carefully and in moderation.”

Lynette and colleagues have been busy planting Gilbert the sculpture and tidying Annie’s garden in Blackmore Gardens.