Families in a Wanstead street clubbed together to plant some flowers and help the declining bee population.

Armed with spades, forks and watering cans, a small army of enthusiastic residents from Gordon Road in Wanstead held a two-hour planting party on Saturday.

They paid for most of the flowers themselves but were helped by the Wanstead and Woodford Friends of the Earth who supplied some special bee-friendly seeds.

Diana Watson was one of the residents who helped  bed in the seeds and plants under the road’s trees.

She said: “We did some planting last year because we thought it would make the road look nicer and also encourage people to get together.

“We are a very neighbourly road, we run a book club, we go on walks together and we have had a couple of great street parties.

“One of the neighbours mentioned that bees are on the decline and we thought it would be a good idea to do our bit to help out.”

Mrs Watson said: “It cost around £60 and we are hoping to make the planting an annual event.

“If we can help the bees and drum up a bit of community spirit at the same time, I think we’ll all be very happy.”

Britain is home to 267 species of bees, and Friends of the Earth estimates that bees are worth £1.8billion to the British economy per year due to the crops they pollinate.

But they say bee numbers have fallen dramatically, affected by disease, chemicals and habitat loss, with honey harvests down by over 70 per cent last year.

Dr Ann Williams is a member of Wanstead & Woodford Friends of the Earth and a Gordon Road resident.

She said: “The council have not discussed specifics with us, but the population of the Redbridge is rising rapidly therefore more housing will be needed,

“We are worried about further encroachment onto green belt land and the effect that will have on the bee population.

“Hopefully more roads will follow our lead and plant some bee-friendly flowers in their neighbourhood to help halt the decline in bee numbers.”