Spalding: More than one million tulips cut for flower parade

More than a million tulips are being picked for this year's event

More than a million tulips are being picked by an army of volunteers for this year's Spalding Flower Parade.

The flowers, which are a by-product of producing tulip bulbs, are classed as waste.

It will take the volunteers two days to collect the blooms, which have been donated by a Norfolk farmer.

The annual parade began in 1959 to celebrate the area's flower growing success, but only returned last year after a 10-year break.

The festival was reincarnated by a group of volunteers, including Stephen Timewell.

"The Spalding flower parade is just iconic - so when we lost it it was heartbreaking," he said.

"It's part of our heritage - but more than that it brings the community together."

The flowers, which are a by-product of producing tulip bulbs, are classed as waste

In preparation for the event which takes place on 11 and 12 May, Mr Timewell said about 30-40 volunteers were picking the heads off up to one-and-half-million tulips.

Mr Timewell said the tulips would be put in cold storage and later used to decorate about 60 floats.

"The theme this year is movies - so you've got King Kong, Wonder Woman, and the Sound of Music," he said.

The cut tulips will be used to decorate about 60 floats

Many of the original floats, which were used in the parade in the 1970s and 1980s, have been restored by a team of volunteers after being found in council yards, garden centres and in fields covered in brambles.

Mr Timewell told the BBC one float had even been found with "a tree growing through it".

The floral event, which attracts visitors from across the UK, is woven into the history of the area and was a feature of many childhoods.