Blooming battle rages on

04 March 2010

A close-up view of the rare flower

FIREFIGHTERS are trying to save a rare flower - on its way to being extinct - that was found on a grass verge outside their HQ last year.

Crews from Wennington Fire Station in Wennington Road, Rainham, are trying to stop the clustered clover from being destroyed when work begins on the outside of their base in a few weeks.

Red Watch manager John Pavling said: "It is important that we do what we can to save the flower because we do not want it to be lost. It is a rare find and is already extinct in some parts of the country and dying out in Essex."

Mary Smith, who originally found the clover last year, returned to the station to persuade contractors to move a piece of turf containing the seeds.

The contractors agreed, but there is still a risk that the flower may not thrive in its new surroundings.

Mary said: "It may not be successful because the clover does not already grow at that part of the station and the turf may not take to the soil."

She added: "This is our only option because it is the only land that will not be paved over."

Work is due to start on installing a pavement and yard to make space for a new incident response unit. It will be used to decontaminate people who have been exposed to dangerous substances.

The work is expected to take five months.

When the clover was found last June, firefighters taped off the area around it to protect it from mowing, but it is not in season until late April, so they will have to wait to see if their efforts have been rewarded.