Cymdeithas yr Iaith – the Welsh language pressure group - has called on the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, to take legal action against the National Botanic Gardens after they claimed the chief of the tourist attraction refused to hold a meeting with them in Welsh.

The group has previously expressed concerns over what it described as the Gardens’ “attitude towards Welsh” and had attempted to arrange a meeting with officials a the centre to discuss language policy.

However, the group was outraged when, it claims, Gardens' director, Dr Rosie Plummer, asked one of their officers to send correspondence in English.

Cymdeithas has slammed the Gardens for its lack of a “fully bilingual” website.

The society claims the Gardens received a £300,000 grant from the Welsh Government in 2012 to create a Welsh language website.

The Gardens also came in for Cymdeithas fire recently when it erected English-only signs on the M4.

The Gardens receive an annual grant of around £650,000 from Welsh Government plus £70,000 this year from Carmarthenshire County Council, with the caveat that expand use of Welsh.

In a letter to Mr Jones, Cymdeithas spokesman Manon Elin said: "As an institution which receives a lot of public money, they should be duty bound to stick to their language scheme, and to provide a bilingual service.

“By refusing to meet us in Welsh, and by treating our officers in such a way, they are certainly breaking their language scheme, but we also believe they are in breach of their grant agreement with you.

“We would like you to use the power of that language condition in the agreement to ensure that the Gardens conform with the basic demands of their language scheme.”

Ms Elin added: "People have the legal right to communicate with bodies in Welsh, and a number of our members feel a lot more comfortable speaking Welsh in these types of meeting.

“The Gardens receives hundreds of thousands of pounds in public money in an area where very many people speak Welsh.

“We have tried to be patient in our attempts to arrange a meeting with them, but the Director's attitude has made that impossible."