A celebrity builder has been lending a helping hand to create a garden fit for the Chelsea Flower Show in Harpenden.

Ground Force star, Tommy Walsh, has been offering his expertise in the construction of the garden in Ayres End Lane, which has been designed to raise money for WaterAid.

The garden, which has been inspired by work in parts of India that experience flooding, will be covering an area of 7m by 4.5m, featuring a house on stilts with a veranda, surrounded by marigolds, roses and hanging garlands.

Mr Walsh became involved in the project when he found out the garden was being designed for the charity, which he feels very passionate about.

He said: "I feel that everyone has the right to a source of fresh water, and I think shame on any government that doesn’t give its citizens fresh, clean running water."

The TV personality said he found it amazing how creative people in such poor countries can be when they are working with the most rudimentary of materials.

He added: "People use what’s local and what they can get their hands on.

"What I find most amazing is how basic and simple the materials and tools they use are, but the engineering principles behind it are very interesting and quite phenomenal."

Russell Brook, who owns the garden and business Rupert's Landscapes, said: "This is such a different project to be working on - we’ve had to go back to basics and we’re not allowed to use modern ways of attaching things. This has been a bit challenging."

He added: "The gardens are all really different and it’s such a different way of working from our normal landscaping way of life, but it is good fun and the design is really creative."

The garden has been designed by Patricia Thirion, of Merry Hill Road in Bushey.

This is the fifth year that she has entered Chelsea Flower Show with her business partner Janet Honour.

Ms Thirion said: "We take everything for granted in the UK.

"The opportunity that we have at the show will go some way to explaining what it is like for people who live in India."

She added: "Once people have a clean source of drinking water they can then move onto getting an income. It is about the transformation that WaterAid can bring to these communities and how we can help."

With 93 million people living without access to clean water in India, Water Aid’s work is something that the designers and builders feel very strongly about.

The garden's buildings are almost complete, after taking about four weeks to put together.

Once Mr Walsh and Mr Brook finish constructing the garden, the next stage will be adding 3,500 marigolds, and dozens of red roses, jasmine flowers and bamboo shoots to the design.

The building itself has been constructed so it will dissemble into ten parts and be put back together for the show, which starts on May 20.