Young families should grow their own vegetables in a bid to cut the cost of living, the secretary of an Oxford allotment plot has suggested.

Reg Curnock, secretary of the Blackbird Leys Allotment Association, is currently trying to find tenants for the last dozen plots across two sites in Kestrel Crescent and Watlington Road.

The grandfather-of-14 said he thought parents could shave up to £40 a week from their shopping bill by growing their own vegetables.

He said: “I would like to see young families on the plots. It would certainly save them money. If you look at the price of vegetables everything is going up.

“Ninety per cent of the vegetables you get in the supermarkets come from abroad and you don’t know what they are sprayed with.”

Mr Curnock has run three allotment plots for 40 years. He said the two sites in Blackbird Leys had 120 plots between them, and the plots had become a lot more popular in the last five years.

The 72-year-old said: “I used to work in the car factory and I saw people leave and within a year they’d be dead because they had nothing to do.

“It is a really healthy occupation. I am out there nearly everyday, keeping active and it gives me great satisfaction.”

Mr Curnock is currently growing broad beans, but he said families should sign up for an allotment now so they could prepare the earth for Spring planting.

Plots on the Blackbird Leys allotments are 10 pole, meaning they are 30 yards by 10 yards, Mr Curnock said.

The annual fee for a plot is £20, and families can share a plot on the Oxford City Council owned allotments, he added.

In June, Oxford Healthy Living Partnership appointed a healthy foods tsar to spread the word about fresh fruit and vegetables in Barton, Rose Hill and Blackbird Leys.

Zoe Millington, project development coordinator for the partnership, also recommended taking on an allotment as a way top combine the benefits of physical activity with eating well.”

Both Windale and Pegasus primary schools on the estate already run allotments, with food in the latter case going straight into the school canteen.

To find out more, call Mr Curnock on 01865 454524.

ghamilton@oxfordmail.co.uk