The Bristol Post published Thieves steal tools from community allotments in Hartcliffe,…

Police are looking for thieves who raided community allotments in Bristol

THEY have been nurturing land to grow vegetables and help support a community farm with their rents. But allotment holders in Hartcliffe have found themselves the victims of thieves who broke into sheds and stole equipment worth thousands of pounds, including lawnmowers and strimmers.

Gardeners discovered the break-in when they arrived at the newly-renovated allotments at Hartcliffe Community Farm, in Lampton Avenue, on Tuesday. It is believed the thieves used screwdrivers or power tools to remove the doors from the sheds.

Farm volunteer Nigel Emery, 56, has been trying to contact all the allotment holders to inform them of the break-in and help assess what has been stolen.

Work on creating the 50 allotments on former grazing land at the farm started last January and a further 15 smaller plots are planned for the future.

The ten sheds targeted, some metal and some wood, were put up to give gardeners somewhere to store their equipment.

The allotments were created as a way of raising money for the community farm, with rents paying for improvements.

Mr Emery said: "I had a call on New Year's Eve to tell me there had been a break-in at the allotments.

"I went up there the next day to secure all the sheds and put the doors back on.

"Whoever was responsible knew what they were doing, as they unscrewed all the doors from the sheds and must have used a battery drill or electric screwdriver.

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The Bristol Post published Thieves steal tools from community allotments in Hartcliffe,...