A DISUSED piece of land on a Witney estate that has stood empty for more than 40 years has been transformed.

Work to overhaul the strip of land at the end of a cul-de-sac on Burwell Drive started on Saturday after one resident got sick of looking at it.

Lyn Jones has lived in the street for the past 42 years and she said she had had enough of seeing the overgrown area.

She said: “I was just fed up with seeing rubbish dumped on the area and I ended up just kind of pestering people in the area to help me out.”

It was her work that helped get businesses in the area to donate goods such as bulbs, pallets and compost to help get them going.

Mrs Jones, 64, hopes the Burwell Community Wildlife Garden Project will bring residents together.

And she is turning an area of the land into a memorial garden for people who want to plant trees to remember lost loved ones.

She said: “My son died 37 years ago when he was a week old from a malformed heart and my mother died 15 years ago, so I have planted trees in their memory.

“Some other neighbours also wanted to plant trees in memory of loved ones so we thought that would be a nice idea.”

And she said there had been a good response from the community to the work that has been done.

She said: “There was such a great atmosphere on Saturday. Everyone got really stuck in and I am really pleased it has finally got going.”

Mrs Jones said the land once belonged to a property developer, but she said she believes it has since been passed back to the Crown.

She said: “Seeing as Queenie is now the owner I was thinking of inviting Prince Charles to come and help us out. I don’t think he would come, but you never know.”

For the centenary of the First World War next year they plan to plant poppies around the border, while there will be three raised beds on the site to grow fruit or vegetables.

Mrs Jones said: “One will be a herb bed and I have asked residents if anyone wants to use the other two.

“If not then I think one will be used for some strawberries and there will be flowers in the other one.”

Witney South and Central councillor Laura Price helped Mrs Jones out on the day.

She said: “I am really happy to support Lyn and the other residents with this.

“ It is a really good example of community in action.”