ALLOTMENT holders on Skipton's Broughton Road are calling for a better security system following yet another break-in at the pigeon lofts and sheds.

The Skipton Town Council-owned allotments have been targeted frequently by thieves and vandals over the past five years, costing the tenants thousands of pounds.

Last Thursday morning, February 2, thieves broke in and smashed the locks off cages containing a number of different types of birds.

Bernard Brogan, of Keighley Road, Skipton, lost 24 birds, including a cockateel, love birds, canaries, finches and budgies, together valued at £300.

He did not know whether the birds had been stolen or released, but if they had been let out into the wild he said it was unlikely they would have survived.

Colin Shaw, of Broughton Road, has paid rent for an allotment there for the past 25 years and says he is fed up with having to repair damage by vandals and replacing stolen goods.

Last week he had a generator stolen which had been hidden in a pigeon loft out of sight and would cost him about £450 to replace.

"Over the years the things that have been taken you are talking about thousands of pounds. But every time I have been broken into I have been in touch with Skipton Town Council asking for a security gate," he said.

Mr Shaw said there needed to be a gate at the top of the road leading to the allotments to stop people being able to drive down.

"Anyone can drive down there now and not be seen from the houses. It is like a blind spot. I keep asking them (the council) for a gate and nothing gets done."

Dennis Casper who has leased one of the allotments for the past 10 years is concerned for the safety of his 30 racing pigeons which are housed there.

In this latest theft, Mr Casper had corn and equipment he uses to look after the pigeons stolen.

He said: "At about the same time last year I lost two baskets and corn and they chucked everything around and made a right mess of them."

He added that he had received a letter from the council this week saying the security of his property was his own responsibility and that goods should not be left there.

Mr Casper said: "How can we carry all the corn back and forth. I cannot drive because of ill health and I do not want to be carting corn there every day."

The letter stated that the decision to put a security gate on the road to the allotments as a deterrent would go before the next committee meeting.

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