A garden gnome has settled at a Glasgow care home after travelling more than 10,000 miles from Austraila.

A garden gnome has settled at a Glasgow care home after travelling more than 10,000 miles from Austraila.

The gnome was sent to Golfhill care home, in Dennistoun, by Irene Ward, who lived in Glasgow for 40 years. She was happy to send the garden ornament in the post, on a 24-hour-long flight, after speaking with her brother, who is a chef at the home.

The donation was part of a project undertaken by staff at Golfhill who are determined to involve residents in the maintenance of the home.

Ray Ainsworth, the Golfhill care home manager, was delighted with the gift, sent all the way from Cranbrook, Western Australia.

She said: "We're thrilled gnomes have come from as far afield as Australia.

"And we're so grateful for everyone who has donated gnomes from far and wide to Golfhill's gnome garden, as a reflection of it being a place of sanctuary."

Appeals for the ornaments were made through local shops and staff at both the care home and Bupa offices around the country.

There were responses from the staff, people within the community and relatives of the residents.

One of the more illuminating gnomes, sent from an office in Leeds, was kilted, with it's face bearing the Saltire.

Others included whistling gnomes and frog ornaments.

The donations culminated in a seed-planting visit from Dennistoun Primary School children, and the opening, on June 21, of The Care Gnome, an area of the garden which features more than 120 garden gnomes.

The residents were delighted to gather in the garden for the day and they will continue to enjoy the popular pastime as long as the weather permits.

She added: "I think it's absolutely essential to get input from our residents, after all it's their home.

"Their thoughts, ideas and tastes are incredibly important to us when planning new projects and making further improvements to their surroundings.

Of the gnome garden opening, she said: "We got a nice day for it and it was excellent. We've got a new gardener in place, so we decided to do something for the residents that everyone could get involved in.

"And our residents are from a generation who loved gardening. They were dancing, and really enjoying themselves."

Gnomes began to appear in gardens in the late 19th century. Grafenroda, in Thuringia, Germany, a centre of ceramics production, claims to be the birthplace of the garden gnome industry.