Trees snapped at community garden Carlton Colville Lowestoft

For the past two years a group of volunteers have worked tirelessly to transform a disused patch of land in Carlton Colville, Lowestoft with a new Community Kitchen and Wildlife Garden.

With a community tree planting day held on the land at The Graylings, off Elmdale Drive, in Carlton Colville in January 2022 16 heritage fruit trees were planted to create a Heritage Orchard.

Earlier this month, volunteers from the Carlton Colville Community Garden discovered broken glass and rubbish strewn around, with one of the fruit trees "ripped out".

And now further "disheartening" damage has been found - with "most of the fruit trees snapped and ripped out of the ground".

Rachael Arnott, chair of Carlton Colville Town Council, said: "The damage was first noticed on Wednesday afternoon around 5pm.

"It is disheartening to see such mindless vandalism to an area that has seen the local community come together over the last 18 months to improve for everyone's benefit.

"We had hoped that the fruit trees, apple, pear and plum, would have been enjoyed for years to come."

With the the Carlton Colville Community Garden established to "interact with families", the community garden group "will now discuss what we should do moving forward," according to the town council.

Three boys had been seen on Wednesday and they were asked by a volunteer "to be respectful" of the community garden.

It is understood that the boys - aged around 13 - were later seen "pulling courgette plants out of the raised beds."

A spokesman for the community garden said: "These events may or may not be linked.

"If anyone thinks they know who is responsible for the damage, we would appreciate their support in fixing it, and in taking care of the garden in the future.

"It has taken us volunteers a lot of effort, hours and fundraising to get the garden to where it was."

Contact Carlton Colville Community Garden via its Facebook page with information.