Liam Flemming, 14, and Cory Stubbs, 13, took joint third place in the Blind Gardener of the Year competition.

Liam, who is partially sighted and has severe epilepsy, and Cory, who is blind and has attention deficit disorder, gained confidence in their skills in the Wildlife Conservation Area at Gawthorpe's Highfield School.

They worked with their sighted peers to create beds of plants and shrubs to attract declining species of insects to the garden at the Highfield Lane school.

And they also made log piles, insect chalets, hedgehog houses and put up bird boxes to encourage wildlife to the garden.

Lesley-Anne Alexander, chief executive of the Royal National Institute for the Blind, said: "We were so impressed with how the winners dealt with the challenges they face, their achievements and their passion for gardening. Losing your sight doesn't mean losing your ability to take part in gardening as well as many other activities."

Liam and Cory received their awards at a ceremony in London from judges from the RNIB and Thrive, a charity which improves the lives of disabled people through gardening. The competition focused on sustainable gardening and healthy lifestyles and was open to all blind and partially sighted gardeners.

Liam and Cory said they hoped to harvest vegetables from the garden for cooking in future.