THE plight of a group of Bolton gardeners who have been told to stop selling fruit and vegetables grown on their allotment has become an internet sensation.

“The Plotties” group has been selling small amounts of produce grown on the Tonge Fold Allotments to try and raise funds to improve the site — but have been forced to shut up shop after a local resident complained to the council.

People have now taken to social media to vent their frustration at the news and to support The Plotties and a Facebook post about the situation has been shared more than 10,000 times.

Bolton Council said it does not have an issue with produce from allotments being sold on a small scale but said it was forced to act after it received a complaint.

The popular Facebook post was created by Ian Kay, who lives in the nearby Dunstan Street, and had become a regular customer of The Plotties.

He said: "We first noticed the group a few months ago, they were selling natural produce as well as rhubarb crumble and some preserves.

“We got talking to them and then came back with some money — the products were great, fresh out of the ground — they were really nice people and were not asking for much money.”

On Saturday Mr Kay, who works in banking, was dismayed to see a sign up at the allotments, behind the Tonge Fold Medical Centre, which stated that The Plotties had shut up shop because of the complaint.

He said: “We were really annoyed, it had become our routine to buy this lovely produce from these great people and we had found out that the money they were raising was going to be put back into the allotments for improvements.

“I decided to share my frustrations on Facebook, I just wanted to show these people some support — I am quite shocked by how widely it has spread.”

One of The Plotties group is David Waring, who is also the secretary for the allotment site.

He said: “The council has no money to improve allotments sites so we have been trying to do something ourselves.

“We want to purchase a year-round composting toilet for the site, as well as a community room, where we can hold meetings and teach people about growing and gardening.

“I am very disappointed that one person has decided to complain to the council — this is a nice, community activity that people have enjoyed — I just hope common sense will prevail.”

A council spokesman said: “We can understand that some people are upset about this and we don’t have an issue with produce grown on allotments being sold on a small scale locally.

“However, it’s not strictly in accordance with tenancy agreements and, following a complaint, we reminded allotment holders of their agreements and asked them to take down the sign which promoted the selling of goods.”