ALLOTMENT holders in Didcot are considering legal action to prevent their plots from being sold for development.

Didcot Allotment Action Group has contacted the National Allotment Society for legal advice after the town council leader said he would consider selling off sites.

Plot holder Eileen Bracken, 69, formed the action group last month after Didcot Town Council agreed to conduct a survey of allotment holders as part of a review of sites across the town.

Now Ms Bracken, who lives on the Ladygrove estate and has grown potatoes, peas and beans at New Road allotments for the past 15 years, is considering the legal route to protect sites from sale.

The former secretary at Harwell Oxford science business park said: "Allotment holders across the country have been forced to take legal action to protect their sites and we would consider it to try to prevent the sale of any sites in Didcot.

"I have emailed the National Allotment Society for advice on legal action - it's something we would consider as long as it didn't cost a fortune."

Didcot was one of a number of towns to win Garden Town status in December, with the aim of creating 15,000 new homes, 20,000 new jobs and £1bn of infrastructure improvements by 2031.

South Oxfordshire District Council's bid document for Greater Didcot Garden Town pledges that allotments will be "integrated into every housing zone" with freshly-grown produce sold daily in the main town square.

Didcot Town Council leader Charlie Robertson said he was personally considering the sale of one or more of the town's five allotment sites in November but was unavailable for comment this month.