Residents have expressed upset following the Bristol City Council’s mowing of 30,000 bulbs that had been planted in a park.

The bulb-planting activity was arranged by a local volunteer group called Friends of St George Park and is said to have been planned months in advance, with the council's conservation and parks teams involved in discussions.

Roughly 70 individuals participated in the event on Saturday 7, which involved the planting of 30,000 bulbs over several hours to support the existence of park wildlife.

However, the bulbs had been moved over by council workers in the following days.

Members of the group told the BBC that the series of events has been ‘really demoralising’, particularly following the investment of time and money in the cause.

The costs of the bulbs had reportedly been funded through the volunteers’ sale of 12,000 bags of duck food.

Cllr Heather Mack, Deputy Leader of Bristol City Council, commented: ‘All of the hard work that the local volunteers and community put into improving the local area and making it more enjoyable for everyone visiting St George Park is hugely valued and appreciated. We are incredibly sorry for this mistake - it should not have happened.’

Cllr Mack added that Friends of St George Park will be financially compensated for the cost of the bulbs and confirmed that the community will receive help with any new bulb-planting or park improvement initiatives.

She acknowledged that communication and information sharing between the council's park officers needs to be better, but explained that the parks service is currently transitioning to an online system to manage ground maintenance work allocation more effectively.

‘We have also reiterated to our teams the importance of being observant and cautious when completing routine maintenance to avoid untimely work’, Cllr Mack said.