Kitchen Garden Forum

We had 21 sheds on our site vandalised again yesterday.
Locks and doors broken. Windows smashed.
Very little appears to have been taken though.

It is only as few months since we had so called security fencing and security locks installed. It is so soal destroying. Many of our plotholders are newcomers.

Sheds are so flimsy - locks are just not enough.
Most of us use poly carbon windows now but even that they tried to burn their way through.
Metal sheds just buckle.

One plotholder always leaves his door unlocked hoping they will just walk in but even he had his window smashed.

Is there an answer? short of string them up by their ........

Beryl.

Dear Beryl, so sorry to hear of your troubles.
I don't know if there is a complete answer really.

It's probably just a small group of youths that cause most of the troule in your area, it's just a matter of catching them.

Maybe you could make some hinged wooden shutters for your windows.

OH

I am afraid hinged shutters wouldn't work they would just prise them off.

At our other local site there was a lot of similar vandalism last year and several plot holders decided that they would leave their sheds unlocked... on their next visit the raiders just used the tools from the unlocked sheds to break into the locked ones.... caused a ruckus between the two factions of plotholders.

This will continue until we get our police/judicial acts together and our children are taught about respect for people and property...and pigs might fly

Dear Weed it was just a thought, thinking about it if they are going to break the doors open they would do the same to the shutters.

What has happened to the respect for other people, and that is from adults as well as youngsters.

Hi Beryl, sorry to hear about your troubles.

I know it's not what you want to hear, but the only thing I can suggest is what we do on our site. No sheds. We don't have any sort of security, hence the rule and we only have very occasional vandalism. I'd love a shed, but it's just not worth the heart ache.

Thanks Guys for your sympathy and comments.

In theory Chantel 'no sheds' would be a good idea
However, many of us don't live that close to the site and carrying tools, watering cans etc. each visit is OK for those with transport.
I probably could cope in my little car but then comes the problem where do you store everything at home. I have 2 sheds choc full on site and no room at home to build another one. The garage is bursting at the seams too.

Beryl.

The best idea I read about was using a plastic compost bin to keep tools in...

With a bit of ingenuity a false inner top with a bit of compost could be positioned to hide the tools from any cursory look

BERYL
You could try popping up the road to Marwell zoo and see if you could borrow a lion for a couple of days leave it in a shed that should sort the little buggers out.

You've reminded me of something Weed. I saw somewhere (was it The Big Dig?) where they had an underground shed.

Imagine a filing cupboard lying on it's back but sunk into the ground. The doors open upwards and when it's closed it can be covered with some sort of disguise.

I don't know how waterproof this would be and you sure as hell can't pop in out of the rain, but it could do for tools.

What a horrible thing to happen! I just can't imagine what it must feel like to get to the allotment and see such damage! My sincere commiserations.

Strangely nothing of value was taken except where locks had been broken they were missing altogether.
Were they taken as trophies?

The mind boggles. I just don't understand this generation at all.

The men on the site have been very good today, arrived this morning with drills, padlocks etc. and helped us ladies out to make us secure again.
Can't thank them enough.

Beryl.

Beryl, quite inappropriate I fear, but your last post conjoured up an image of ladies forming an orderly queue on the allotment path to be fitted with chastity belts.

Chantal

If my memory serves me well it was the gardening programme where Monty Don visited the Birmingham allotments ...I believe one of the ladies had one of those before putting up a shed.

On the other hand it may have been on the CD's of "The Allotment" programme filmed a couple of years ago for TV in the Bristol area.

You see Chantal....I have these two brain cells still working....one spends most of its time looking for the other!

Oh Peter!!! No answer to that.

Beryl.

I have a mind that jumps to conclusions Peter, but even I did not see that one like you did!!! Bless ya!!!

When I got out of Gosport Beryl it was getting bad, vandalism and mindless thuggery that is. And even here in Somerset we have our problems, I think that the vandalism equates to personal violation and folk won't feel safe following what has happened. You can replace items and repair property but it is the way that it makes you feel that is difficult to 'repair' wasn't it near your site where Smith's scrapyard got burned down a few times. What about a few shipping containers for people to share? I know that particular scrap yard used to be lined with dozens of them to keep out the vandals....

Compo