Gardeners with mental health problems may be forced to put down their tools after vandals caused damage estimated at several hundred pounds to their prize-winning allotment.

Stones and bricks were used to smash the panes of two greenhouses and slash the sheeting of a polythene tunnel at the Cellar Project's plot at Marley, between 5pm on Sunday and 1pm on Monday.

Plants and plant pots were also damaged.

Project manager Jack First said he found some minor damage on Tuesday, February 18, from stones thrown from the sports fields.

But gardeners were distraught when they returned to the site at the start of this week.

Bricks had been thrown from the adjacent site, breaking most of the panes of glass in two of the project's greenhouses. Mr First said the damage, which amounted to about £300, was about more than its monetary value.

He said: "I want these vandals to realise that they have really upset my members. A lot of hard work has gone into this project. Now everyone has a great feeling of despair.

"We have been looking at expanding, but this could see everything come crashing down around us."

Mr First hoped somebody might have seen those responsible, or the vandals themselves would use their better judgement and end their criminal activity.

He added surveillance and security could be stepped up in a bid to prevent a repeat of the incident.

He said: "The project is a means of therapy and helps to relieve the anxiety of our members. But some of our members were nearly in tears when they saw the damage."

The group has owned five allotments at Marley for three-and-a-half years. In 2000 and 2001 they won the best plot in Keighley in the council's annual allotments competition.

Produce from the land is sold at the project's Keighley Garden Caf, Scott Street, the Healthy Living Shop, Lawkholme Lane, and various farmers' markets in the region. Mr First said they were hoping to expand onto some adjacent land provided by Primeur, with the help of local companies and donations.

Anyone who has any information about the crime should contact Keighley Police on 617059.