A 76-year-old who spent the winter rebuilding a shed at his allotment was horrified to discover the whole thing had been stolen.

Jim Burlton got a phone call from another allotment holder at Riddles Road in Borden, to say it looked like his shed had been broken into.

But when Mr Burlton arrived, he discovered step ladders and other items from inside had been left, but the wooden structure had gone.

He said he had inherited the shed from a friend and had spent the whole winter re-building it, fixing bits and putting new felt on the roof.

“I had only just finished it when it was taken,” he added.

“I hadn’t even had a chance to sit in it yet.”

It happened on Sunday, February 11.

Mr Burlton, from Milton Regis, has rented the allotment for seven years.

His wife, Linda, grows flowers and vegetables there, some of which were trampled by the thieves, who also broke down part of the fence to get the shed out onto the road.

"It's very strange and is really unnerving for other plot holders, because we don't know when they might come back" - Garry Jacobs

Garry Jacobs, warden for the south central area of the site, where the Burltons’ plot is, said: “I’ve never heard of anything like this happening.

"We’ve had break-ins over the years, but these people just took the shed, not anything inside it.

"It’s very strange and is really unnerving for other plot holders, because we don’t know when they might come back.

“Police are now doing night patrols and CCTV is in operation.”

Mr Jacobs believes the same culprits are behind another shed theft in another area of the allotments the following day, when thieves drove onto the site, again leaving the contents.

Last Tuesday, a number of sheds were found broken into, but nothing was taken.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 01795 419119 quoting XY/008278/18.