A NATIONAL flower judge and respected grower has had hundreds of his prize blooms destroyed in an arson attack by vandals.

Donald Kershaw, 67, of Hamer Avenue, Loveclough, has had an allotment off Burnley Road for five years with a former cricket club changing room as a hut and a large greenhouse.

He grows award-winning dahlias at the site but since February the plot has been subject to vandalism and Mr Kershaw is now considering leaving the site for a new allotment closer to home.

He said: "It had been a good spot for me up until this year. In February I had all the windows in the greenhouse smashed and no sooner had I replaced them than they were broken again.

"My shed was then broken into and its contents scattered. I had just put a fresh clasp on the door when on Tuesday a friend who has an allotment next to mine called to say there had been a fire. There were two fire engines at the site when I arrived".

The fire destroyed the 16ft by 14ft shed and contents, including pots, canes and fertilisers worth £1,500.

Next to the shed was a cold frame in which Mr Kershaw kept 500 dahlias. He had just stacked them ready for planting. The plant pots melted with the heat of the blaze and the plants have shrivelled.

The greenhouse was also affected because the heat smashed the glass in one end.

Mr Kershaw is now unsure if he will be able to enter the national show in Shepton Mallet, near Bristol, because he may not have blooms ready in time. But he is still hoping to compete at the Harrogate show.

He said: "I will hopefully be able to get some plants with help from other enthusiasts. I grow new varieties and half of that stock has gone.

"Fortunately I gave some plants to a nursery so should be able to get some stock back.

"It is getting late now to start planting to have the flowers ready in time for the big shows.

"I was upset and angry when I saw the damage. I just looked, then walked away. I can see no reason for anyone to do this. They have gained nothing."

"If anyone saw what happened, I would urge them to contact the police."

Mr Kershaw will be judging this year at Tottington show, Liverpool and Harrogate and is a familiar site figure at the local shows at Rawtenstall and Bacup, which he enters each year.