CAMPAIGNING residents have put down their clipboards and picked up their watering cans to care for new trees and shrubs.

Homeowners in Queen Mary Avenue, Colchester, were furious when Colchester Council dug up the shrubs on the verges outside their homes in 2009.

The controversial move led to Colchester’s “Shrubgate” and the first appearances of eco-warrior “The Human Shrub”.

Now Colchester Council has provided some replacement trees for residents to look after.

See the full story and pictures in Monday's Gazette.