A COMMUNITY group has fought off competition from 1,000 entrants to win £5,600 worth of gardening products.

The Riverside Community Resource Trust, which provides a venue for community events and meetings in Gravesend, scooped the funding at B&Q's One Planet Living Awards.

These are designed to urge community groups and charities to act green.

The trust plans to use the money to create a memorial garden at its centre in Dickens Road, Gravesend, in honour of former centre manager Pat Harnaman.

She worked at the centre from 2003 until she died in 2006.

Finance officer Sonny Butler described her as a "bubbly and friendly person who was committed to her family and committed to her job".

Some of the money will also be used to refurbish the centre with an environmental awareness section.

Riverside general manager Mary Cresswell said: "We are absolutely delighted to have won this award. The materials which B&Q has awarded us will enable us to make a real difference to our environment."

The trust won after submitting a bid to judges in March outlining how it would spend the money.