By Hollie Carr

Flower power bloomed at Melcombe Day Hospital in Weymouth with its 19th annual garden party to say thank you to local community supporters.

The facility, part of the Weymouth Hospital site on Melcombe Avenue, provides support for older people with dementia and other mental health issues.

Patients past and present were accompanied by friends and family, alongside volunteers, carers and staff at the 1960s-themed event, many dressing in their groovy gear for the occasion.

Weymouth Mayor Cllr Graham Winter was a guest of honour, unveiling a new railway-themed area in the garden in memory of former patient, Weymouth-Waterloo train driver Len Aplin,

Mr Aplin's widow, Janette, and her daughters, Jennie and Gill, joined the mayor to help cut the ribbon.

Gill Aplin said: "We just wanted to say thank you for this invaluable facility and the great staff that work there. They really supported us as a family."

She added: "We are very touched by the memorial, as it represents Dad perfectly from his time driving on the Weymouth to Waterloo line during his career on the railways."

The party was organised by Lesley Benham MBE, Team Leader at the Dorset HealthCare-run site, and was supported by donations to the hospital’s charitable fund.

Peter Rendall, Chairman of Weymouth and Portland Hospitals League of Friends, also held a raffle which raised £75 to help support Weymouth, Westhaven and Portland community hospitals.

Weymouth Community Hospital operates a wide range of services run by Dorset HealthCare, Dorset County Hospital and voluntary organisations. These include a community urgent care centre, outpatient clinics, day theatres, x-ray, physiotherapy, pain and musculoskeletal services, primary care mental health, older people’s mental health and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).