Kitchen Garden Forum

For the third time this year, my plot has had someone wantonly ripping down my Pea Canes or ripping up a mini mesh tunnel. They never seem to trample or nick the veg - just delight in wrecking stuff. Yesterday they had pushed over two people's sheds!

These allotments are next to a busy path, and a field that kids congregate in at nights.

Have any of you found ways to reduce or eliminate things like this?

Other than digging man-traps (probably illegal) I wondered about:
- Telling the police (will they do anything in practice?)
- Putting up a sign saying there are surveillance cameras monitoring the plot....
- Actually getting a surveillance camera (though there are issues of cost & practicality)

Any other ideas?

Every single issue should be reported to the police, it will create a crime hotspot that they will have to address.

A chap on our allotment used to periodically put up a notice stating "Beware contamination - do not tread on earth or touch equipment -due to (and then make up a horrible disease ) everything on this plot has been sprayed with " (and then there was some madeup chemical name, usually containing the words 'sulphur' and 'acid').

Might be worth a go.

I agree with Peter. We, luckily, have a a very good community police force and, if enough people report such anti-social behaviour, they increase their visits to the area, particularly during the e evening when the youngsters congregate. That knowledge gets round very quickly amongst the no-gooders and they keep away.

The police may not get there immediately something happens, but if it prevents future attacks, that at least is a positive outcome.

Thank you everyone, report duly lodged.

The police wanted a separate report from each person affected, which ties in with what Peter said.

It can get stupid if they're like Herts Police, who won't acknowledge that anyone except the owner of property can report its theft or damage to it.

A tenant in the final stages of cancer had his shed literally broken open and police refused to take my report of it until I got officious about being an employee of the council and accurately stating the poor chap was on his deathbed so I didn't want to burden his family with the matter.

Call centre bloke couldn't answer when I asked if he'd refuse to take a report from me of someone vandalising the police station unless I was the Chief Constable.

Good for you Peter, i think in all these government targets etc and cuts, the police seem to have forgotten they are there as a public service to protect the people, if it was a bank big corporation or some fat cats property the response would be different.

I remember phoning the police about our neighbours alarm going off, it had never done so before. They said unless I could see someone on the property they wouldn't attend. The property is surrounded by huge conifers!

How has the vandalism come on? Has it stopped now?