Ilkley has taken the first step in its 2002 bid to be crowned floral champion of Yorkshire.

Judges for Yorkshire in Bloom were shown around the town's wealth of attractions by Ilkley in Bloom chairman Tony Gilroy on Tuesday.

Local volunteers pulled out all the stops to prepare for the Spring Judging, collecting 30 bags of rubbish from the Cow and Calf rocks at the weekend.

The group had previously carried out a clean sweep of the town centre to make sure Ilkley picked up the maximum number of points for tidiness.

Reflecting on a campaign which survived two vandalism attacks, Mr Gilroy said: "We carried out all our finishing off duties on Sunday so the place was looking good - we were about as ready as we could possibly be.

"Now it's just a matter of waiting to see what the judges decide. The biggest amount of points to be won are for floral decorations at commercial premises, and permanently planted beds, open spaces and general tidiness are other key areas.

"We should have done well in all of those categories, and I think the band stand should have helped this year because it's new and the judges won't have seen it before.

"I also hope we get some extra marks from the Springs Lane Medical Centre garden, which we built last autumn and have maintained."

Winners of certain categories of the regional competition will go on to compete in Britain in Bloom.

Ilkley came out third overall in the Towns category of the competition in 2001. The last time the town won the country-wide event was 12 years ago, in 1990, but it was also a finalist in the 1993, 1994 and 1999 competitions.

Mr Gilroy believes a strong spring showing might just help the town edge ahead of last year's winner, Wetherby, and runner-up, Ripon.

He said: "I think Bradford Council has done a great job of the permanent

planting in the town, with the colours and patterns along The Grove all looking really good, and that should have earned us a few pluses.

"They are both lovely towns but we've plenty to go for, and historically we are more of a spring town, that's when we're in our prime.

"We don't usually do as well in the summer, because we're not really a 'hanging basket' sort of place, so now is the time to make our mark. We have won before so it is not beyond our grasp."

The group's efforts have been boosted by help from the Ilkley branch of the Skipton Building Society, which is

sponsoring a trough in the central car park.

The results from the Spring Judging will be announced in mid-May.