ALLOTMENT owners in Poole say they are now scared to return to the plot after vandals destroyed greenhouses and wrecked flower beds over three nights on the Easter weekend.
The latest in a series of attacks took place at the site off Alder Road on the evenings of Friday April 2, Saturday April 3 and Sunday April 4.
One allotment holder, who did not want to be named, said: “I have been on this allotment for around ten years now and I have never known it so bad.
“That is the upsetting things about it all. Because of Covid, this the only place I have been able to go to outside of my flat. A lot of people on this site are the same.
“It has been our sanctuary and people have worked so hard over the winter coming out in the freezing cold to get everything prepared and now that’s all undone.”
One couple who had taken on their plot in September last year and spent over £1,000 on a new greenhouse and making beds, only for them to be broken and trashed by vandals.
Another lady, who had recently recovered from cancer, had her newly laid paving slabs broken.
“I have never known such carnage in all my life; these kids are running riot,” the lady added.
“One man had his shed tipped over, several people have had their green houses and polytunnels destroyed, it’s so upsetting.
People on the allotment claim that the culprits have managed to gain entry to the site via a tree that was cut down at the edge of the property and now left lent up against the fencing.
The tree was apparently chopped down two year and is yet to be cleared.
The allotment owner said: “The police haven’t bothered to do anything. I think, a lot of it, they couldn’t care less about
“I think there used to be CCTV opposite where the shop was, but a car hit it a couple of months ago and it hasn’t been replaced.
“What can you do really? A bit more security and higher fencing would be good. We trust that people whose houses overlook the allotment will let us know if anything happens, but they keep their mouths shut because they fear they will be targeted as well.”
Many of the residents talked about the health and wellbeing benefits of being able to use the space as a retreat from their homes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Another allotment owner said: “If you do not put in the effort, you will not get the rewards. That is why some of us come out here nearly every day to do bits and bobs.
“A lot of the people here are elderly or have kids who have been locked up inside during the pandemic.
“I live in sheltered housing and I know that being able to come here has saved my mental health.”
Many people have asked the police and the council to invest in better security for the site, however nothing, as of yet, has been confirmed.
One elderly lady on the allotment said: “I feel scared to come here now. When you are nearly seventy and you know this sort of thing is going on, you fear for your life.
“It is very scary, are they going to stop are just break stuff or will it escalate to something more?
“We are a bit defenceless here. Most of us here are just elderly people trying to get over Covid.
“If something isn’t done about it soon, someone is going to get hurt.”
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