A HALESOWEN woman's dream idea to set up a 'peace garden' on spare land outside a church is nearing reality after a donation from a kind-hearted estate agent.

Sharon Sutton came up with the plan around two years ago after a service at Quinton Methodist Church to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day - and it became even more important to her after the tragedies of the Covid pandemic, and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

And after an appeal on social media for help, estate agents Scriven & Co came forward to buy a brand new bench for the garden, which is outside the church on Ridgeway Avenue.

Churchgoers and wellwishers have also got behind Sharon's plan by donating plants for the garden - which Sharon says she wants to see as a garden of peace for the whole community to be able to rest and unwind in.

Sharon, who is also actively involved with the Girls Brigade group at the church, said: "There has just been so much tragedy around that I thought it would be lovely to create an area where anyone can just rest, sit a while and reflect, or to just take some time out of the chaos of life.

"I just wanted to make a welcoming, natural area, especially as the flats nearby have no gardens for people to sit in.

"I am so grateful to Scriven & Co - they said they wanted to give something back after being in the town for three generations, and this is a lovely way for them to be able to do it."