A BRETFORTON pensioner was left shaken after vandals struck twice in two days to wreck the allotment he had tended for almost 20 years.

This week police appealed to villagers to help them find the callous culprits.

Roland Halford, of Station Road, Bretforton, arrived at his allotment in Clayfield Road to discover the plot, where he has spent the best part of 20 years growing vegetables and fruit, was destroyed and the ground strewn with pieces of broken glass.

The 78-year-old said: "I'm very upset. This is the second time they've wrecked the place - and they've pulled the fence down this time."

In addition to the damage to the fence, more than 30 cloches - plant covers - were smashed and the polythene cover of a polytunnel was slashed. The plastic caps of four barrels were also cut off. Garden tools including a spade, a trowel and a hoe were either damaged or stolen.

The latest attack occurred between 3.30pm on Sunday and 8.30am on Monday morning.

But it was the second incident of vandalism suffered by Mr Halford in the space of a few days. Last Wednesday or Thursday two sheds were broken into and a wheelbarrow with a wooden base and a rubber tyre was stolen.

Mr Halford said: "When I found the allotment in a mess I was quite shaken by the whole thing. The police have come out and have calmed me down. I'm slowly getting over it now.

"It's only me that works down there and now I'll have to go down and tidy it all up."

West Mercia police press officer Mike Vockins said: "It's likely that the offenders would have mud-splattered clothes and possibly have glass splinters or pieces of glass in their clothes."

Anyone who can offer any information about the vandalism is asked to contact Evesham police on 08457 444888 quoting incident number 120S/300106.