A couple of days ago we had a brief respite from the rain so I decided to do a bit of tidying up in the garden.

As we live on the slopes of the Great Orme in Llandudno which, of course, is solid rock the only garden that we have is some raised beds where I manage to grow a few bits and pieces.

As with most people I find that the rain makes the weeds grow so much more than the plants that should be there! At least the rain makes the ground soft enough to pull some of them out.

For the ones that need a bit of help I use my trusty Spear and Jackson Weed Fork. I have no idea how much I paid for mine as I have had it for years but they currently cost just £3.49 at www.amazon.co.uk with free postage so it sounds like a bargain to me.

I don't know about you but Spear and Jackson is always the first company that comes to my mind when I think about garden tools and I always think that they are synonymous with quality - that is what I have always found anyway.

This fork has a weather proofed clear lacquered ashwood handle which looks really smart. It has a hole in the end through which is threaded a durable leather thong type strap. This is ideal if you want to hang it up in the workshop or garden shed.

The three prongs are made from a hammer finished epoxy coated stainless steel. This gives the business end of the fork an improved resistance to rust, scratches, humidity and alkalines in the soil. It also means that the soil should not stick to the prongs too much making gardening easier.

As I said earlier I tend to use my fork mostly for removing weeds from the flower beds. I do this by pushing the prongs into the soil next to the weed and gently easing it up underneath to loosen the roots of weed so that it can be pulled free from the ground and thrown into the recycling bag ready for collection.

I have also used on the occasions that I have removed an old shrub. In this case I use the fork in the same way as I do for removing weeds although I tend to lift the roots so that I can cut them with the secateurs in order to remove the main body of the shrub. I then use the fork to turn over the earth so that I can then remove the remainder of the roots ready for the new plants to be put in.

Once I have finished with the weed fork I just either wipe it clean or rinse it under the outside tap and then wipe it dry - it's as easy as that!

As I said earlier in this review I have had my fork for many years now and it is still - maybe not quite as good as new - but not far off!

I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who needs something to help to keep their garden neat and weed free.