Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

This Dundee pensioner has barricaded himself in his allotment shed

Gardener Don Elder.
Gardener Don Elder.

A desperate pensioner has barricaded himself into his Dundee allotment shed in a desperate bid to fend off an eviction order.

Don Elder, 75, has gardened at the West Law Allotment site for the last 20 years and has been there every day for the last decade.

Now, after a falling out between Mr Elder, whose wife Hazel also has a plot at the site, and the West Law Allotment Association, he has been told to leave.

Initially he was told to be off the site by Friday March 15, but he appealed the decision and has since heard that the appeal was not successful.

A padlocked chain has been fastened on the entrance to the keen gardener’s allotment to keep him out.

But Mr Elder has still managed to gain access and has since added another chain and padlock to the door for his own safety during his sit in.

Mr Elder began his one-man stand on Tuesday night and he has vowed to continue it until he is forcibly moved off the land.

He said: “It’s stupid and frustrating but I am not going to leave without a fight.

“I have a fire and fold down bed. I had a good night’s sleep on Tuesday night and I have enough food for while.

“I just can’t get over the association, they are just being bad minded and they are determined to get me off.

“I feel I have to make a stand. I have paid my £25 rent for the plot until October and I am determined to stay.

“I have not done them any harm really, I have just been a pain in their side as I ask too many questions.

“They are trying to bulldoze everyone here.”

Mr Elder, of St Leonard’s Place, used to be a member of the allotment association for the site in the shadow of Dundee Law.

He has promised his wife that if force is used to evict him that he will go peacefully and not fight back.

Over the last few years the West Law Allotments have been targeted by vandals and in 2014  nearly 20 panes of glass in Mr Elder’s greenhouse were smashed.

While in the same attack a further 12 panes of glass in Hazel Elder’s greenhouse were smashed.

Then in August 2017 vandals broke into 14 sheds on the site and then repeated the feat the following February.

Nobody from the West Law Allotment Association responded to a request for comment.