Appeal for better allotment security

Vandals have struck again at allotments in Bingham.

A plot-holder at Hill Drive, Mrs Jane Costello, said the problem had been on-going for a year.

In the latest incident, her greenhouse window was smashed and the contents of a compost bin strewn all over her plot.

She said other plot-holders’ belongings had also been vandalised.

In October Bingham Town Council visited the allotments after several complaints about vandalism.

There were reports of youths lifting wooden panels out of the fence that encloses the allotments to gain access.

To try to rectify the problem the council fitted wire around the fencing to stop the panels being moved.

But the plot-holders claim the problem has not gone away.

Mrs Costello (62) said: “They have smashed windows, thrown compost around, and dug up people’s produce.”

She attended the council’s recreation and cemetery committee meeting to ask for barbed wire to be put on the fence, or for the gate to be brushed with anti-vandal paint.

Mrs Costello, who has had an allotment for nine years, said: “Something needs to be done.

“The situation is getting ridiculous.”

She said other allotment holders were adding to the problems by leaving the gate unlocked when they had finished gardening.

“People are simply driving away and leaving the gate not only unlocked but wide open,” she said.

The committee chairman, Mr Frank Kerry, suggested a letter be sent to plot-holders stressing the need to lock the gates.

He said the council would look into installing better security.

Mr Rex Barnett, a councillor, did not think the council would be allowed to fit barbed wire because of health and safety reasons.