SALTNEY residents have honoured the memory of a local man by finishing a community garden he was a driving force behind.
Ben Pugh, 37, suffered a fatal heart attack earlier this month and his passing has left a huge hole in the Saltney community.
Ben, dad to Louis, 16, and Noah, 5, was a hugely popular member of the community and had been pushing for a community garden on derelict land on Beechwood Road in Saltney.
Since his tragic death, the community has rallied to finish off the garden - which is now acting as a memorial garden to Ben and other young local people who have died in the recent past.
Ben's brother, James, paid a touching tribute to him.
He said: "Ben was just one of those people who no one ever had a bad word to say about. He was a very successful recruitment agent and was the hardest working person I know.
"This is shown by the fact he would give up his free time to help Lauren (Humphries) with the community garden on Beechwood Road.
"He just had time to help anyone."
Ben was also known for his love of Newcastle United FC.
"You could hear him from outside the pub when Newcastle were on," James said.
"He was such a passionate fan. But he was a jack of all subjects - he could talk to anyone about anything."
A testament to Ben's character is that the family has received hundreds of messages of support and condolence in the wake of his passing.
The community garden itself has planters dedicated to the memory of four local people whose lives were tragically cut short.
As well as one for Ben, there are planters in memory of 26-year-old Josh Atkin, who died in a road traffic collision in March; Lee Cooper and Malaki Hughes - a two-year-old boy who died in a tragic accident involving a collapsed fire place.
Lauren Humphries, who has chiefly organised the community garden scheme, said: "The garden had been left for four years and had become all overgrown and was an eyesore.
"I decided to sort the area out and turn it into a community garden.
"Sadly, Ben, who was always here helping me, passed away. He was so keen to see it renovated for the community, and since his death we have all worked our socks off to get it finished."
She continued: "It has all been self-funded, with the help of donations, and some nights we've been working on it until 10pm - but we wanted to get it done in time for Ben's funeral (June 30).
"It's done now and we're so happy with it and dedicate it to Ben and other young people from Saltney who have been taken too soon."
Lauren added:"I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Tasha Hughes and advanced maintenance workers Eddie Chadwick, Daniel Lloyd, Scott Hughes and Stefen Goff for all their hard work in making this happen.
"The local children have all mucked in and their help has been brilliant. I also want to thank Councillor Veronica Gay for pushing the council to hand over this area to the community."
Also involved were James Pugh, of Dee Clearance Ltd, and Saltney Morrisons who donated flowers and plants, as well as Linda Houghton who donated decorations.
James said: "I'm absolutely amazed what Lauren and everyone have achieved. It looks absolutely brilliant and it's fantastic to have a space in the community where people can go for some quiet reflection.
"The community spirit in Saltney is fantastic - and that's one of the reasons Ben loved it here so much."
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