‘Heartbroken’ volunteers were left devastated when their beloved wildflower garden at Leighton train station was destroyed by workmen.
But two months after Network Rail contractors tore through the platform one display the station voluntary group Off the Rails have teamed up with other helpers to repair the damage.
Victoria Harvey, of Beds’ Friends of the Earth, who had help plant the original flowers two years ago, said: “It was heartbreaking because two years is a long amount of time to have been working on it.
“The area with the most established plants was destroyed just as they were starting to look really good.
“Wildflowers take a long time to grow, so it has undone a lot of work. It was the end of a lot of work. It has been very testing.”
On Wednesday, five volunteers from Off the Rails, along with 10 Network Rail helpers arrived to replant the area with 200 pot plants and 500 plugs. Victoria said: “We are really pleased with how London Midland helped. They were fantastic. They kept up the pressure on Network Rail to replace the wild flowers, who are now spending £600 on new plants and say they will help with watering.
“It was great that Network Rail had put this mistake right and it was a really enjoyable and productive day working together.”
Network Rail have apologised to volunteers for the damage caused while installing new cables as part of a power supply upgrade on the West Coast mainline. A spokesman said: “Unfortunately one of our contractors accidentally disturbed the planting area you are referring to and we are sorry for that.
A London Midland representative said: “The fantastic work of Off the Rails at Leighton Buzzard is a great example of community involvement, which is reflected in the string of awards received and the increase in footfall. We look forward to seeing the results of their hard work over the coming weeks and months and information will soon be available at the station telling people more about the scheme.”