Allotment-holders devastated after vandals smashed up plots overnight

Plot owners say sheds at the site, in Rawlyn Road, Smithills, were broken into on Wednesday night, with padlocks cut open, wooden panels ripped off, and windows smashed in a bid to gain entry.

A poppy wreath that was attached to one shed was reportedly ripped off and thrown into a pile of manure.

It is the latest in a spate of attacks on allotments across Bolton, and has left some holders threatening to sell up, including one elderly woman who has owned a plot at the site for more than half a century.

Martyn Swain, who is the treasurer of the Rawlyn Road Allotment Society, said: “I wish we knew why this has happened, but it is becoming more prevalent. It is happening on almost on a monthly basis now.

“We have a lot of elderly people who have indicated that this is it and they are going to give up.”

In August, an 84-year-old woman was reportedly left cowering behind a shed after a group of youths broke into the site in broad daylight.

“There is only so much you can take before you give up because it feels like a lost cause,” added Mr Swain, aged 32.

“People put a lot of time and effort in. For some elderly people, it is their only social interaction.

"These things have to be repaired and it all adds up. The council no longer give us money to secure the site. We have talked about installing barbed wire but we are not allowed to because of the risk of injury.”

The Rawlyn Road site is one of a number of sites that have been targeted recently.

Last month, vandals burnt two sheds to the ground at an allotments site Harpers Lane, Smithills. Two greenhouses were also damaged, with one completely destroyed.

It was estimated that the total cost of damage for one resident could be as high as £2,000 to replace both a shed and a greenhouse.

Shepherds Cross allotments in Elgin Street, Halliwell, has also been targeted.

To contact police about incidents of vandalism, call 101 or visit the Live Chat feature on www.gmp.police.uk.