THE PASTIME of allotments gardening has gone into decline as more and more of Warrington's plots remain untended.

The days of growing your own seem numbered as fresh fruit, flowers and vegetables are readily available in every supermarket, garage and corner shop.

Warrington Borough Council has 20 allotments available at rents of £30 to £40 a year, with special discounts for pensioners.

And old-timers - such as Bob Oxley, who works an allotment at Victoria Park - say this small outlay can reap rich rewards for the dedicated gardener.

The 89-year-old great grandfather, of Mercer Street, Howley, says the outdoor life has kept him out of doctors' surgeries for more than 40 years. "I never get colds," he said. "There are lots of benefits to having an allotment. Homegrown fruit and vegetables taste better and its cheaper to grow your own. I supply all my family." Over the years, the former Rylands worker has learned his own gardening tricks of the trade - such as greasing the stems of chrysanthemums to prevent earwigs climbing up to eat the petals.

And the widower says the allotment has become a way of life: "I visit every day. When my wife died, I lost interest but my daughter said I must keep it up.

"There's a social side to it as well, everybody knows each other and stops to talk. I'd be lost without it," he added.

Allotments are currently available at sites in Kingsway, Orford and Victoria Park. To find out more, telephone Colin Stanton at the Town Hall on 442727.

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