Gardeners and police officers are working together to try to catch a gang of vandals who target vegetable patches, greenhouses and huts at allotments in Saltaire.

The vandals, believed to be teenagers, have burned down huts, smashed windows and damaged equipment over a period of more than a year at the Saltaire (canal side) Allotments off Victoria Road.

Since the problems were highlighted in the Telegraph & Argus last month, several more incidents have been reported to the police by tenants at the 25 allotments.

Roland Dale, pictured, 68, of Hirst Wood, who has had his greenhouse windows smashed, said meetings had been held with the police to try to increase security.

Police officers have also visited the allotments to see the damaged property.

"In the past week or so vandals have struck again at night, in areas of the allotments where there is light, for example near the canal," said Mr Dale. "It's mindless vandalism.

"The police have taken our issues on board and are producing a safety and security audit for the allotments."

Mr Dale said the audit would determine whether CCTV cameras could be installed on the site.

"We are actually allowing a culture of criminality to develop among these youngsters and what we need is for one or two of them to actually be apprehended and charged," he said.

Detective Inspector Trevor Gasson, of Keighley CID, who has visited the allotments, said the report would highlight recommendations to increase security.

"There isn't an epidemic of vandalism in the area but these kind of incidents do increase the fear of crime," he said.

"An option is to cut possible access points at the allotments and make the area less attractive for groups of youths to hang around.

"Another option is getting a warden for toilets near the allotments which are a target for graffiti."

DI Gasson said the warden would act as a deterrent against youths gathering in the allotments.

He said a meeting of the Community Safety Sub-Group of the Saltaire Project, a group formed to discuss safety issues in the World Heritage village, had also highlighted the plight of tenants.

Concerns raised by the gardeners at the meeting will be included in the police report.

The allotments are owned by London-based textile manufacturers Illingworth Morris and are rented by the tenants for £30 a year.