TIMBER from Southend Pier has been reclaimed and reused by the Duchess of Cambridge at the stunning RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Boards trodden by the feet of Southend Pier’s visitors over decades had the perfect weather beaten look the designers of the garden display, which included the duchess, wanted.

About 170 reclaimed timber deck boards were provided by Essex firm Ashwell Recycled Timber Ltd.

The specialists, working with companies up and down the country, helped the boards to be used as part of the Back to Nature Garden, designed by landscape architects Andrée Davies and Adam White in collaboration with HRH the Duchess of Cambridge.

A central feature of the celebrated garden is a woodland walkway, built by Cumbrian carpenter Jonny Briggs, a graduate of the Princes Foundation.

After visiting Ashwells timber yard in Bulphan, Upminster, he selected timber reclaimed from the pier during a recent renovation, as he was attracted to the character, created by the hundreds of thousands of visitors who’ve trodden the boards since the timber was first installed on the pier in the 1980s.

More than 10,000 people a day walked through the Back to Nature garden and the use of the reclaimed Southend Pier timber created the accessible walkway to enable each visitor to get back to nature.

The garden will now be displayed at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival from July 2 to 7, before moving onto RHS Garden Wisely in Surrey, which will open in the autumn.

Deb Davies-Tutt, of Ashwells Timber, said: “It was an honour to be invited to supply timber for this high-profile garden.

As an Essex business, the fact that the timber chosen was reclaimed from our own historic Southend Pier made the project even more perfect.” The walkway has been used by many visitors including Prince William and children Prince Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.