A SLICE of the desert came to Bingley at the weekend, as a local cactus society staged its annual show.

‘Most points in show’ - no pun intended - was among the top prizes up for grabs at the Bradford Branch of the British Cactus & Succulent Society’s big event at Woodbank Nurseries & Garden Centre, Harden Road, Harden, yesterday.

Other sought-after prizes, dished out by qualified judge John Betteley, included best cactus and best succulent.

Entrants came from all over Yorkshire and David Quail, the Bradford branch chairman, said they might have been tending their cacti and succulents for years or even decades, as many of the plants could be up to 50 years old.

He said: “People have grown them - not always the same person - but a lot of people have grown them for 30 or 40 years."

He said the event itself had gone very well, saying: "We had lots of plants in the show, we had lots of people come to see them and we had lots of enquiries about what we do in our society's branch. It was superb."

There was also a display of cactus-themed artwork by schoolchildren from Trinity All Saints Primary, with visitors to the show being invited to help in judging the best work.