A COUPLE are devastated after vandals poisoned their prize-winning garden. Leonard Domaille, 61, and his wife, Margaret, 47, won the St Peter Port Floral Guernsey best garden trophy in 2004. But after discovering the damage, they have vowed never to compete again.

‘We’re so upset, it’s terrible – whoever has done this is a nasty piece of work,’ said Mr Domaille, an internal mail deliveryman for Le Riches and Checkers.

‘My wife has already told the judges that she doesn’t want to enter any more.’

Mr Domaille estimates that at least £500-worth of plants in his front garden have been destroyed by a chemical, which he believes is weedkiller.

Many others have been badly damaged including a weeping willow that they have been growing for five years and a two-year-old fern.

The full extent of the damage – found on Monday morning – is yet to be seen as the poison continues to take effect.

Mr Domaille said that his wife burst into tears when she discovered what had happened to their garden, which they believe might be permanently damaged.

‘We don’t know if we will be able to grow in the soil because we don’t know for certain what’s been put on it,’ he said.

The couple have been showing their garden at La Vrangue Estate since 2000 and have entered the annual Floral Guernsey competition since 2002.

‘We’ve never had any problems before,’ he said. ‘People just don’t want to see anything nice any more.’

The couple had entered in this year’s St Peter Port floral competition.

Luckily pictures of the garden had already been posted on the BBC Guernsey website for members of the public to vote.

‘But for those who wanted to come around and see it for themselves, it’s been ruined,’ he said.

Douzenier Katina Jones, joint organiser of the St Peter Port Floral Awards, said: ‘We were so disappointed that this has happened and we cannot understand how anybody would want to do such a thing.

‘It’s just mindless vandalism and dangerous as well, as not everybody would have access to this type of stuff.’

The incident has been logged by police.

* In 2002 the couple received the bronze medal in the Floral Guernsey competition. The following year they won the silver and then, in 2004, they were overall winners. In that year they also picked up the South Show best garden award.