Dozens of sheds at the 64-plot allotment site at Green Lane, Devizes, have been broken into.

The offenders got into the site on Thursday by bringing down wiring at the top corner of the site, which is in Roundway parish.

Devizes Police received reports of 16 sheds being broken into, between 3-4.30pm, but say some sheds had nothing stolen from them.

Roundway parish councillor Albert Wooldridge believes that 21 sheds were broken into, based on how many locks he saw that had been forced.

A portable gas stove, rotary mower and a yellow McCulloch petrol strimmer were stolen from different sheds.

Sgt Joanne Spencer said: “This is a mean-spirited crime attacking a small community of people at a place where they go to spend their leisure and relaxation time." 

Coun Wooldridge said it was the first time they had been broken into since they were opened last June.

He said: “I can’t understand why people would do this. It looks like pure vandalism, I detest it.

"Allotment holders are very annoyed and angry about it.”

He said the place where the break-in took place was where the council was planning to install a tank with solar panels to provide power for a water supply from a bore hole.

But he said: “Solar panels are one of the biggest things that get nicked and what we had planned was for it to be below fence level.

"We are now looking at another way of doing it, without solar panels.

"We have the bore hole in and we are still looking at having a pump and tank but are thinking of taking a small generator up there once a week.

“Solar panels would have been a good way and the green way to do it but I don’t think we can risk them being stolen, they are expensive.”

The matter will be discussed at the next parish council meeting on May 19.

Anyone with information about the break-in should contact the police on 101 and ask for beat manager for the area PC Chris Mead.

  • Roundway Parish Council has agreed to allow residents of Devizes have plots at the allotments at Green Lane, up to a cap of ten plots at any one time. The move follows Devizes Town Council relaxing its rules to allow residents of Roundway to have allotments at Quakers Walk and Windsor Drive.