FENCING at allotments will help keep “would be ne’er do wells” from accessing the site and causing damage, a senior councillor has claimed.

Proposals to install the 2.8-metre high fencing at Blackburn’s Teak Street allotments were approved by planning and highways committee members despite concerns from local councillors over the height of the fencing.

Ward councillors Ron Whittle and Sylvia Liddle said they were in favour of installing fencing but would have preferred it to be limited to 1.8 metres tall because of the impact on nearby homes.

Borough regeneration boss, Cllr Phil Riley, told members the site was prone to vandalism, break-ins and fly-tipping and needed a security boost to attract new plot holders.

He said: "We are trying to build up this site. There is a lot of spaces available because there is a lot of anti-social behaviour.

"Clearly if we are going to get new tenants on there, we need to give them a sense of security.

"This will help stop ne'er do wells who can't be bothered to climb over the fencing."

Ghazala Sulaman-Butt, of the council’s growth team, said the issues at the site, which is the biggest allotments in Blackburn, are discouraging allotment holders from using the site and causing increasing costs to the council.

She added: “The fence will provide a secure barrier between the residential properties and the allotment site boundaries and will be positioned along the line of the council’s ownership. Any land outside of the council’s ownership will not be enclosed.

“The security of the allotment site is paramount, therefore the council seeks to improve security measures by proposing to erect 2.4m mesh fencing, which will separate the boundaries between the Council owned and private owed land.

“The fencing will help prevent fly-tipping, break-ins and theft of personal possessions from the vulnerable allotment holders, which has financial and negative health impacts on them through un-needed stress and incurring costs for replacing stolen or damaged items.”

In 2009, yobs caused thousands of pounds of damage after trashing more than half the plots.

Sheds were torched, doors and polytunnels slashed and vegetables ripped out of the ground in the rampage at the site off St James’ Road.

Bosses at the Teak Street Allotments said tenants had been left heartbroken at the damage.

Around 50 plots were vandalised and police said the scale of the damage was one of the worst seen at an allotment site in the town.