AN 800-YEAR-OLD garden was opened up to the public for one day only.

Visitors can peruse Tarring Fig Garden in Worthing at their pleasure for a single day each year because of an old planning agreement.

Visitors swarmed to the ornate grounds on Saturday and were greeted by owners Richard and Ann Warner, who have lived there for 25 years.

Richard said: “It was a very good day and a lot of people turned up including the Mayor of Worthing, Hazel Thorpe.

“A lot of people come back time and time again.

“It was really busy all day. It’s been wall to wall, or rather, garden wall to garden wall.”

The garden is known to have existed since 1745 but reports suggest it actually dates back to the 12th century.

The privately owned property has opened for one day each year since a planning agreement was secured by Worthing Borough Council in 1989.

The local authority gave permission to a development, under the condition that what remains of the fig orchard was left intact and the upkeep was continued by future residents.

The agreement also states that the gardens are opened to the public one day every year

Richard said: “There used to be 150 fig trees here but in the 80s two thirds of them were cut down

“The remaining orchard is split between three properties and the trees are protected by a preservation order, which is quite rare.”

Richard and Ann made sure visitors felt welcome providing free afternoon tea and cake.

Richard, who plays in a folk band with his two sons, also put on a show performing live music throughout the day.

He said the music the band played was “mainly traditional English and Irish songs” but also revealed they had been working on a cover of a song by Avicii, who was a Swedish dance musician.

As well as the grounds, visitors are attracted to the property by Bishop’s Garth, the Grade II listed building which backs on to the garden.