An army of volunteers will be helping breathe a new lease of life into some of the borough’s parks and wildlife areas as spring approaches.

Seven open spaces will be landscaped and improved as part of Harrow Borough Council's green grid scheme.

Work has already started at Stanmore Country Park and Stanmore Common, with work including planting trees, creating picnic areas, improving paths and offering visits for local schools.

Other areas that will be improved over coming weeks are Queensbury Recreation Ground, Bentley Priory Open Space, Roxeth Recreation Ground, Canons Park and Newton Farm Ecology Park.

Harrow Borough Council’s divisional director of planning Stephen Kelly said: “The green grid project represents a significant investment of staff and volunteer time in helping to make positive change to the ecology and environment of the borough.

Volunteers put in 960 hours of work in green grid work last year.

They planted 12,000 bulbs and 9,000 trees in the borough’s open spaces including Stanmore Marsh, the Celandine route and Belmont trail.