MAY I send hearty congratulations to all the allotment holders after my visit during the Stokesley open gardens at the weekend.

What a lot of time and effort has gone into each and those I spoke to had such a pride in their display of flowers, fruit and vegetables.

Well kept pathways and fencing, greenhouses clean and tidy all made for a pleasant viewing and as to the vote for the best, I just could not make a decision.

The council also deserves a mention in the way it has made the allotments more secure with the gates and fencing improved. A far cry from my days when I had my shed broken into and my valuable tools stolen. Indeed, the whole of my fencing posts including the wire, and my vegetables, were stolen, too.

Derek Whiting. Riversdene. Stokesley.