Dolau station was overgrown with brambles and weeds at one time

Dolau station, near Llandrindod Wells, was named top in the railway section of the horticultural contest.

At one time over-run with brambles and weeds, the station has been transformed into the pride of the Heart of Wales line.

Volunteers have decorated the station with hanging baskets, plant pots for 21 years.

Members of the hardworking action group spend hours planting, watering, and weeding - and with great effect.

Action group secretary Kevin Kell, from Knighton, said: "We're delighted and we've taken a great deal of pleasure from our work over the last few years.

"We're not sure if 12 years in a row is a record, but it can't be far off.

"We beat Llanwrtyd Wells station to the first prize - we were joint first with them last year.

"Two members of the group lived in two of the railway station cottages and they were they real inspiration behind the project which began in 1983.

"The unused platform was especially overrun with brambles and weeds and our real aim was to increase the profile of the Heart of Wales line."

The Queen visited Dolau during her Jubiliee tour in 2002

The station, opened in the mid 1860s, lost much of its significance in the mid 1960s during a major review of the railways.

There have been a number of campaigns to keep the station open over the decades when it looked threatened with closure.

It clearly has a place in the locals' hearts, and they are delighted it has been recognised in the Wales in Bloom contest.

Chairman of Wales in Bloom, Clive Addison, from Conwy, said: "It's unusual for a station to win so many years in succession.

"I'm not sure if it's a record, but the station's action group have worked extremely hard to maintain consistency."