A GROUP of gardeners have proved that where there is muck, their is money.

Bankfields Allotment Association has grasped the nettle and rallied round to improve their plots with the helping hand of grant aid.

The keen gardeners were being blighted by thefts and vandalism on the allotments in Eston, near Middlesbrough, until they secured funding from local councillors and Redcar and Cleveland Council to pay for a security fence.

Ray Witherley, association secretary, said: "We only started the association in March and it has been successful.

"We were having a lot of trouble with thefts and vandalism with some of our animals being killed so we were holding regular meetings with crime prevention officers and the council.

"Our three local councillors offered to pay £1,000 each to help pay for security fencing and that figure was matched by the council itself.

"After that we were encouraged to apply for funding to set a gardening shop on the allotments, selling compost and fertilizer. Our application was successful and we received £11,000 from the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) to pay for a secure unit and stock, which should be getting delivered this week.

"All we wanted to do was help local people and the response has been fantastic - we have been approached by other allotment associations to advise them on how to secure funding."

Redcar and Cleveland Council is encouraging would-be allotment holders to think about taking a plot in less demand areas.

The authority has 800 plots, in 12 different sizes, across 15 sites - eight in Redcar and seven in the Greater Eston area.

A total of 775 are taken, with 25 unoccupied, but theres a waiting list of 525 because of where the vacant plots are.

The councils cabinet member for the environment, Councillor Sylvia Szintai said: "It's a difficult problem of supply and demand which were doing our best to try and resolve.

"We have got available allotments in South Bank and Grangetown and in South Bank they are slowly beginning to be taken up."