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A Magnificent Man And His Cleaning Machine

A volunteer has been cleaning up at the National Botanic Garden thanks to his own invention. Tal Harries, 59, from Llandybie in Carmarthenshire has been using a Heath Robinson-style contraption to clear the 300 metre-long rill which flows down the Broadwalk.

It's proven to be so successful in clearing the rill of fallen leaves and algae, that he has developed a newer model. Tal, a retired mechanic, came up with his idea after being challenged by a relative. He said: "It's basically a garden rotivator, which I have adapted to take brushes like you'd find on street cleaning machines. I had to invent my own hub to fix the brushes to the machine. I'm very proud of it, more so because I'm doing something to help the National Botanic Garden. This model is Mark 2, a petrol-driven two-stroke engine which is lighter than Mark 1, which is a four-stroke."

Tal and his machine cause quite a bit of interest with visitors to the Garden. He said: "It's very enjoyable to talk to visitors but it does mean that it takes me a lot longer to get through the cleaning!"

Clive Edwards, Facilities Manager at the Garden says Tal saves quite a lot of time and effort. He said: "Tal's ingenuity is amazing. Without his invention we'd have to have a team of people scrubbing the rill on their hands and knees for hours to keep it clean. We are very grateful to him!"

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