A group of volunteers braved the freezing weekend weather to plant an orchard in Ipswich as part of a project promoting healthy eating and community togetherness.

Around 15 members of Ipswich’s Incredible Edible team planted three apple trees, a plum tree and a pear tree at the site in Inverness Road on Saturday.

Group leader Natasha Graves said the orchard was intended to make the site a more attractive area for the local community to enjoy.

“We hope it will make it a nicer place to visit, more aesthetic for the residents and they will have fresh, locally grown produce to eat,” she added. “We also hope it will bring the community together when have more planting days in the future. It means neighbours who might not have spoken to each other before can spend time together as a community.”

Miss Graves, a 17-year-old Northgate High School student, helped launch the town’s Incredible Edibles branch as part of a National Citizen Service project in summer 2013. The group, whose aims are to promote healthy living, sustainability and community cohesion, has joined with two other local organisations, Transition Ipswich and Inspire Suffolk, to carry out its work.

Previous planting schemes carried out by the groups include two community allotments in Cemetery Road and St Margaret’s Church.

It is hoped more trees will be added to the orchard next year.