There is a lot to be said for working an allotment. It keeps you fit. You produce your own food and can eat it with confidence, knowing what has or hasn't been sprayed on it. It is a relaxing and satisfying activity.

At least it should be. But the unfortunate allotment holders in Haycliffe Lane, Little Horton, are finding that it can also be very frustrating thanks to the activities of vandals who are uprooting the vegetables they so lovingly tend and throwing them around.

Last year they complained to the T&A that greenhouses and cold frames had been smashed and produce ripped out. They say that 16 months on nothing has changed and complain that the Council is ignoring their plight.

It is a sad fact of modern life that there are people around - usually young people - who take pleasure in destroying things which are precious to others. Their activities are most hurtful when they go on a destructive spree in a cemetery. But deliberate damage to cherished gardens and allotments can also cause a great deal of distress.

The Council reckons to be keen to encourage the uptake of tenancies at the various allotment sites under its control. There are far too many plots standing overgrown and uncultivated.

However, there is little encouragement for people to take them on if they are only working to enable the vandals to have their malicious fun.

The allotment holders at Haycliffe Lane say that a simple measure like fencing would help to protect them. It is surely not too much to ask the Council to look at providing it before another year's crop is ruined.