Injured Gardener Uses Catapult

Green-fingered pensioner Fred Gardiner has invented a Roman soldiers-style catapult to water his hanging baskets.

Fred,80,hurt his back and struggled to water all 51 of the hanging baskets filled with £300 worth of flowers in his garden.

So he got hold of some scaffolding poles,a bit of rope and wheels off a shopping trolley and constructed a 15ft device - rather like the gadget which Romans used to hurl rocks over castle walls - that can lift the plants into position when he has watered them.

He places the basket in a metal hoop at one end,hoists it into the air using a rope at the other end and wheels it into position.

His wife Ruth,77,is relieved that Fred has built the lifting device."It will ease his back" she said.

"He's mad about his flowers.We can't even go on holiday because he has to stay here and water them.The only place we go is to the garden centre."

Fred picked up his design and building skills from working on a building site in his youth and his years in the army.