PUPILS and Saints stars have brighten community spaces in North Baddesley and Valley Park.

Saints legends Lawrie McMenemy and Radhi Jaidi helped students from North Baddesley Infant and Junior School, St Francis CofE Primary School and Knightswood Primary School plant 7,000 daffodil bulbs.

The initiative, organised by county councillor for North Baddesley Alan Dowden and his wife Celia, borough councillor for North Baddesley, aims to educate youngsters and teach them to respect the environment.

This year 1976 FA Cup winning manager Lawrie McMenemy was on hand helping more than 25 pupils to plant 3,500 jetfire daffodils in the Fleming Avenue precinct in North Baddesley. The design for the daffodils was to have one big circle and one smaller circle, which Councillor Dowden described to the children as the sun and the moon, with the big circle giving light in the day and the smaller one giving light in the night.

Radhi Jaïdi, who was part of Saints’ back-to-back promotion side on their return to the Premier League, and is now Saints’ under-23 coach, helped pupils from Knightwood Primary School and St. Francis C of E Primary School plant 3,500 bulbs in Katrine Crescent, in Valley Park. The jetfire daffodils were this time spread across three rectangular patches.

Cllr Alan Dowden said: “I know Lawrie well, he has done so much for local charities and the only manager to win the FA Cup for Southampton. If anyone deserves a knighthood it is him. If I was dishing them out I’d give him one straight away.

“He always puts himself out to help if I ask him. When I spoke to him he really wanted to do it. He emailed me Monday night to tell me how excited he was.”

As previously reported, the initiative was first launched to stop anti-social behaviour and councillors said it has worked very well through th years.

This year the children involved were then invited into Beadles Tea Room, where they all had biscuits and drinks.

AH Cheater Funeral Directors sponsored the bulbs, while Veolia UK and Direct Tool Company sponsored the compost.