Raiders leave trail of damage at allotments

Raiders caused hundreds of pounds of damage at allotments in the Black Country in the third break-in at the site this year.

Three sheds were broken into in Oldbury while two plastic greenhouses and another shed were also damaged.

Burglars tried to force entry using crow bars.

Nothing was stolen from the allotments but a strimmer and claw-hammer were stolen from a shed belonging to a neighbouring property.

Gardeners at the Cemetery Road site, which has 23 plots, are devastated at the latest break-in.

The raid follows incidents in January and another last month.

Last month, thieves stole a £300 cultivator from a shed belonging to Audley Dupee, aged 56, of West Bromwich, and another machine was taken in January.

Sandwell Council spokesman Dave Lawley said the authority had increased the patrols carried out by its wardens at the site but added that criminal matters were an issue for the police.

The theft was discovered on Sunday morning and it is thought the raiders broke into the sheds overnight on Saturday.

Anyone with information should call police on 0345 113 5000.