‘Homeless feud’ causes huge damage to Ilford allotment building

John Daniels, Ilford Allotment Society Secutary (Image: Archant)

Chairman of the allotment in Loxford Lane, Ron Madhu, 65, found the portable building, funded in part by a £10,000 lottery grant, with the urinals, sinks and toilets smashed.

He said: “When I turned up in the morning, the door was smashed in and the disabled facilities were smashed up.”

This is the seventh attack on the allotments in the last year, says Mr Madhu.

Police

“It’s got to be the same person,” he said. “They’ve vandalised all my sheds.”

This isn’t the first time the building has been attacked.

“In September they broke the door down, took a mattress in there and stayed a couple of nights,” said Mr Madhu.

Mr Madhu removed the mattress after the first night only to find it back there the next day.

He said: “I state on my life that it’s the homeless person.

“I called the police and they said there’s not a lot they can do because they were accused of mistreating the homeless people in the past.”

Three homeless people had been living in sheds at the allotments for about six months, he said, but a feud between them led to one becoming an “outcast”.

On December 22 the remaining two’s shed was also vandalised.

He said of the two who remain: “I’m happy with them being there. They keep it clean and I feel at ease if they are there.”

Police have interviewed the remaining two men and they have said they believe the vandal is the outcast.

Mr Madhu believes the vandal has been there most nights since the incident.

He said: “When I go to my shed in the morning I can see stuff has been moved around.”

Allotment secretary John Daniels spoke of previous destruction at the site.

“I call it destruction derby,” he said. “Once a car in a police chase drove at 60-80mph down the alley way between the two halves of the allotments.

“It caused substantial damage to the fencing.”