A FLORIST is thanking the community who helped her make the ‘pipe dream’ shop come true by giving out free bouquets.

Katie Jo Brown - who runs Bloemist Family Florist on High Street, Bolton-upon-Dearne, with her mother Jean Hackett - has been placing bouquets around the community since she opened the store in July.

The small gesture has been her way of giving back to a community that allowed her and her mother to open the shop they’d always dreamed of.

Katie told the Chronicle: “Opening this shop always felt like a bit of a pipe dream.

“We always said if we got our own shop it would be lovely, so when I saw this property go up for sale it almost felt too good to be true.

“If we didn’t try I knew I’d always be in regret.

“These bouquets are just a way to say thank you to everyone.”

The latest bouquets - which were left in St Andrew’s Square - were the fourth they have left out, as Katie wants to still keep it as a random surprise.

They get plenty of responses from the community, with the woman who collected the first lot messaging in to say how much it cheered her up while she was going through a difficult time.

“I do want our shop to be part of the community,” Katie added.

“I’m from Bolton, I’ve always lived here and it was really important to be a part of that community.

“I didn’t just want to open and not give anything back.

“Bolton doesn’t always get a nice reputation, but it is a really nice place and it’s full of really nice people.”