THE final and 1,000th stone has finally been put in place at the Darwin Gardens Millennium Maze in Ilkley, after three years of work.

Volunteers who have helped out on the project, including maze designer John Haigh, met for the official laying of the final stone at the award-winning Millennium Green on Wells Road. The stone was one of the special feature stones sponsored by businesses and organisations in Ilkley.

The last stone was sponsored by Gasbags party and balloons supplier, of Ilkley.

Peter Harnett, chairman of the Darwin Gardens Trust, said: "It's a splendid achievement. It has taken three years from the moment the maze was started. Of course it has already been in use for some time by people of all ages, and long may it continue."

The Ilkley Gazette-sponsored feature stone was also laid recently.

Work at Darwin Gardens is far from over, however, and the volunteers are now working on their wildlife pond and willow bower. Dr Harnett said pond insects and water plants were already thriving, and some visitors had seen newts and frogs.

The Darwin Gardens are so names to mark the connection between the town and Charles Darwin, who stayed in Ilkley to sample the spa waters. When the concept of the maze was first revealed, business and organisations in Ilkley soon came forward to sponsor the stones making up the maze and a limited number of special feature stones