WELL dressers paid tribute to one of England's best-loved composers as part of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of his birth.

The music of Sir Edward Elgar was the theme chosen by organisers of the competition which has become a feature of Malvern life during recent years.

Each spring, teams of dedicated volunteers decorate the various, springs, spouts and other water features around the hills in an ancient tradition revived in recent years by Malvern Spa Association.

The decoration was done on Friday morning, and that afternoon, judges appointed by the association toured the wells, judging the work on four criteria: visual impact, originality, artistic merit and site enhancement. This year, the judges were Malvern Hills District Council arts officer Manda Graham, Peter Smith of Autumn in Malvern and Irene Tretheway.

The winner of the Tinkler Cup, awarded for the first time this year for the chairman's choice, was St Ann's Well, decorated by Karyn Claxton and Juliet Mootz.

The winner of the open competition, taking home the Malvhina Cup, was the Jubilee Fountain, decorated by Angela Sutton, Lois Lawler and Val Greaves. The runner-up, winning the Crocus Cup, was West Malvern Tap, the creation of West Malvern Gardening and Nature Club, working to designs by pupils of the village primary school.

In the small groups category, the winner of the Enigma Cup was Lower Wyche Spout, by Debbie and Jess Sly, who thus won the category for the fourth year running. Runner-up, winning the Spring Cup, was Evendine Spring, decorated by Helen Burrage.

The winner of the Children's Cup was the Hayslad spout in West Malvern, which was decorated by Jake and Holly Love, Jessica Basset and Luke (no surname given). The runner-up was the Lower Wyche Trough, the work of Hannah Lillis, Eleanor Harrison and April and Rosemary Upson.