DEVIZES florist Cathy Stockwell decided to spread some Christmas cheer by leaving a bouquet of flowers for someone to find.

Mrs Stockwell took part in The Lonely Bouquet, an initiative by the British Florist Association.

She left a bouquet of flowers on a bench at Hillworth Park with a card saying: ‘The Christmas Lonely Bouquet – Adopt me please! I’m all alone and looking for a festive home.’ It was found by mum-of-three Lisa Hyde, who had been shopping and was returning home through the park.

Miss Hyde, of Queens Road, took the bouquet home and decided to give it to her mother-in-law, Kathleen Tilley. In turn, Miss Hyde’s children William, ten, Isobel, eight, and Lucy, four, presented it to their grandmother.

Miss Hyde said: “I thought it was unusual to see a bouquet of flowers on a bench in the park. It’s nice that there is some good in the world.”

Mrs Tilley, 69, who lives with husband Michael in Fordson Road, Devizes, said: “I love having flowers and I thought it was a nice gesture.

“I thought I was so lucky to have been given them.”

The flowers have been displayed in a vase on the couple’s dining room table.

It is the first time Mrs Stockwell, who runs Flower Patch and has a pitch at The Shambles indoor market, Devizes, has taken part in The Lonely Bouquet.

She said: “The British Florist Association did it in the summer and they decided to try a Christmas lonely bouquet. I thought it would be a nice thing to do – there are quite a few lonely people about at Christmas.

“It was a nice gesture to make to someone somewhere. Life’s too short.”