Great-great grandad Colin Harrison enjoys pottering in the garden but by his own admission he’s not the most green-fingered of gardeners.

Three years ago he planted a lily bulb in a pot and watched it grow. When it died back at the end of the summer he chopped it down. And every year it grew back even taller.

This year the yellow-flowered lily grew and grew and grew.

It’s now reached about 7ft tall and towers above his bungalow in Fernside Crescent, Almondbury.

Widower Colin, 77, a former council cleansing worker, has been stunned by the reaction from delighted passers-by.

His monster lily with a dozen blooms has become something of a curiosity in the neighbourhood.

“People just love it,” said Colin. “When they get off the bus they stop and stare and people ask me how I’ve grown it so tall.

“But there’s no secret. I planted the bulb three years ago and when the leaves go yellow I cut it down and just leave it and every year it grows back taller.

“It’s still in the same pot with the same four inches of compost. I don’t feed it and I don’t even water it.”

Colin, a marine commando in the 1950s, has other lilies in his garden that grow to a more normal 2ft in height.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Colin. “I like to keep my garden tidy but I’m no expert. This lily just keeps growing.”

7-ft lily grown by Colin Harrison outside his house in Almondbury
 

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