Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Crime stricken allotment holders fight back

They will be featured on Crimewatch's roadshow programme in an effort to halt the vandalism at their plots in Lincoln

Vandalism at allotments in Lincoln has become so bad that the BBC's Crimewatch Roadshow programme has been mobilised in to help.
A spate of incidents at the Boultham allotments in Lincoln has led to the crime-fighting programme filming there, the Lincolnshire Echo reports.
In the latest attacks in February, windows were smashed and human waste left inside the tea room. Vandals urinated in water bottles.
Allotment holders were upset by the damage and have since been in talks with the the local authority in Lincoln to improve security.
Now, Crimewatch UK's roadshow is joining the cause to highlight the issue and will be filming in the area in the next couple of months. Presenters Rav Wilding and Ginny Buckley will host a series of live morning shows in June and July, including the allotments.
Lincolnshire Police spokesman James Newall told the Echo: "We are working with the Crimewatch Roadshow, which will be filming in the next month or so, to put together a number of packages that will go into their daytime programme.
"It's different to the evening show in the sense they do not focus on serious crime. It's more about day-to-day issues and things that affect our community."
He said the issues with the allotments is "a prime example of how low-level crime can really affect people's lives."
The allotments have been the target of vandalism over the last year, and people who spend hours tending their patches have had their windows smashed, sheds damaged and panes of glass in greenhouses broken.
Councillor Alister Williams, county council member for Lincoln North, hopes the Crimewatch team's visit to the site, off Boultham Park Road in Lincoln, will complement his education initiatives with young people.
He said: "The allotment-holders feel that certain generations misunderstand allotments and, when they get bored, they go and trash things. Some of the things the offenders did were disgusting and that goes beyond boredom to vandalism.
"One of the things we want to do is work with the schools so the allotment-holders can explain themselves to young people so they understand that the allotments are an extension of people's homes.
"People down there were devastated when it happened and the last time it was just awful."
Fred Hyde, who has had an allotment at the site for six years, said: "It's about trying to educate people. Trashing an allotment and our tea room has an effect on us all. They left glass in the fruit and the sugar we use for making tea, and they urinated in our water bottles.
"It's not just an allotment, it's a community. The world is not a very good place at times, but when you come down to the allotments, all the bad stuff is left outside." He said he hopes Crimewatch will get the message across.

(Reproduced from guardian.co.uk 26th April 2011)

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