Stolen Crops !

[Frederick]

I was talking to a guy yesturday who was most upset as his hard worked on crop on his  UK allotment was raided.....I know food has gone up in price for many but stealing from allotments is about as low as you can get ...so if you have veggies growing ...keep an eye open  for thieves.........

[Jotty]

I agree that it's disgraceful, but I'm amazed it doesn't happen more often as I walk past inviting rows of tomatoes...

[Chassaing]

Hi Frederick, this is not an isolated case, and I believe it won't be the last.  People are finding that 'life' is getting tougher, especially in UK.  My father had allotments for over 40 years and I often wondered how the whole place did not get 'stripped'. I hope this is the last time for your friend, so that he feels it is worthwhile to keep at it......

All the best,

[Cat]

Sadly it's on the increase in France as well.  I've seen a couple of news reports about it recently.

[Tony F Dordogne]

I subscribe to a gardening/allotment site in the UK and this has been going on all year.

Makes my blood boil especially when so many plots are raided on the same night.  In one area the Police were saying that people are stealing from allotments and then selling them at inflated prices 'to make a few bob'.

And no matter how tough things are for people, you're almost literally stealing the food from people's plates if you do this.

Lowest of the low - why can't people turn theior own gardens into plots - no, sorry, probably infringe their human rights to sit around all day and do nothing, these thieves should grow their own veggies if they want them. 

[5-element]

There is a little vegetable plot, that I often pass when walking to town, it is overlooking a back alley. It belongs to an elderly man, with whom I always exchange a few words if I see him, although he mixes Fremch/Spanish/Catalan so I am not sure how much we understand each other.

A couple of weeks ago, I was outraged to see all his tomato plants, and green pepper plants, ripped out - and the fruit/vegetables having obviously been used as projectiles. A nearby neighbour apparently saw that it was 3 young teenagers (maybe even 11-12 year olds), who climbed over the netting, she shouted at them and they scampered off.

After about a week, the plants had been put back in the soil, as well as possible. I didn't see the old man.

And then a few days ago, I see it has all been vandalised again, this time irretrievably. It is all so terribly sad, as this gentleman takes great care of his little plot. The neighbour who had seen the youths initially, was sorry that she didn't have a camera on hand at the time, and I don't know if she might have seen them again this time.

I honestly am not sure what it worse: having your vegetables stolen for food, or having your plot mindlessly vandalised. I do wish I would come across those 3 youths myself, and I would certainly report them to the gendarmes.

This is of course, not the UK - but a very quiet, uneventful little town in the south of France. Always rather disturbing, as no act of vandalism is anodine.