IT was supposed to be an everlasting tribute in memory of loved ones to bloom year after year.

But two years on, Bolton Hospice's Commemorative Bed of Roses in Queen's Park, Bolton, looks overgrown and neglected, with nametags strewn across the ground.

Hospice chiefs revealed the garden has been a regular target for vandals, and admitted they are struggling to maintain the area.

Today they pledged action to clean up the site and issued an apology to the 300 or so people who paid to have rose bushes planted in memory of a friend or relative.

Hospice fund-raisers say they are now considering moving the garden to another site within Queen's Park -- or to another park.

Anthony and Susan Boddy, of Hulton Lane, Bolton, bought bushes in memory of their mothers.

Mr Boddy's mother Cicely was one of the first people to be cared for in Bolton Hospice.

She died in the Hospice in 1992, aged 79, of throat cancer.

He said: "We do not expect a prize-winning rose garden, but just want a bit of respect for the memory of these people.

"I'm not knocking the Hospice, because they need to raise money, but they have to think of the aftercare of these things.

"It would only take an hour or so a week to tidy it up.

"It was a nice idea at the time and we thought it would be lovely to have roses planted here because we often come to the park with the dog.

"A lot of other people obviously thought it was a nice idea too.

"Not long after the opening, the deterioration started to set in. The roses disappeared beneath a mass of weeds, the bushes were uncared for and the name tags either went missing or lay meaningless on the soil."

He added: "They said we could come back to this site year after year to see the roses bloom.

"But the last few times we have been, we have gone home upset."

The rose bushes raised more than £6,000 for the Hospice after nearly 300 were planted in exchange for a £25 donation each.

The garden was created to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hospice.

At the time, Debra Graham, director of fund-raising, said: "We look forward to the roses blooming year after year as an everlasting memento."

Now the Hospice is looking to move the rose bed.

The issue has been discussed at recent Fund-raising Committee meetings, and a number of sites are being considered.

Choices available to the Hospice include moving it to Moss Bank Park, where it will be cared for by the Friends of Moss Bank Park, moving it to a more secure area of Queen's Park, or to a memorial forest area at Foxholes Road, Horwich.

Mrs Graham said: "On behalf of Bolton Hospice I want to apologise to the family concerned for any upset they have experienced and assure them that we are aware of this problem.

"The issue of maintaining the rose bed has been one of ongoing concern for the Hospice.

"There has also been the difficult problem of vandalism to contend with, which has been an aspect out of our control."

She said Bolton Council had agreed to care for the area, but a reduction in staff on a limited budget meant that was not possible.

The Hospice has now enlisted the help of the Bolton Youth Offending Team.