Work has started on a £2 million garden centre and holiday park which is set to create 40 jobs.

Developers have beaten the weather to make a positive start to groundworks and buildings on the site of the former Cherry Tree Farm at Glentworth.

The nine-acre site has been derelict since the farm shop closed two years ago. It is now owned by West Lindsey farmer David Nelstrop, who is based at Lissington near Market Rasen.

He has already invested heavily in the project which will be known as The Willows.

Phase one, due for completion after Christmas, will see a four-and-a-half acre garden centre and cafe, with five retail units, employing eight full-time and up to 32 part-time staff.

The second phase of 17 static caravans, ten log cabins and a fishing lake on a holiday park at the rear of the centre will also create jobs and be open by the summer of 2015.

"The objectives are to create a high quality retail and tourist attraction for both local residents and visitors to Lincolnshire and to tidy up a local eyesore to create something that the villagers can be proud of," Mr Nelstrop said.

General manager James Carter, 28, has previously worked at Crowder's Garden Centre in Horncastle and Dobbies.