A woman who has been growing vegetables to help people during the cost of living crisis has revealed her heartbreak as cruel vandals broke into her allotment, destroyed her crops and salted the earth.
Since last July, Carly Burd from Harlow in Essex has been growing vegetables in her garden, which have helped feed over 1,600 people during the cost of living crisis.
Currently living with multiple sclerosis and lupus and in receipt of disability benefits, the 43-year-old shares her produce with her local community amid rising food prices.
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However, on Saturday, April 8 Carly revealed how thugs destroyed her garden and ruined her produce.
Sharing the news in a post on social media, Carly said: "I came down on Saturday morning and I just tasted and saw the salt. Five kilograms plus of salt has been poured over my garden. It wasn't a kid grabbing it - it was an adult who knew what they were doing.
"What's heart-wrenching is that those onions were planted by children and they really put their effort in to put something back into the community.
"I felt like I'd been kicked in the face. I have no other explanation for it. Who would do that? It's just the most repulsive act I've ever known.
"There's a huge amount of people that it's going to affect, it's also affecting nature. All of the nature that's in the ground, all the worms, they're all dead. It has a massive impact."
Thankfully, Carly is undeterred by the vandalism and has promised to continue her work.
She plans to now convert the damaged land into a space in which the whole community can enjoy tea, coffee and meals.
Now, Carly is planning on growing food in a different section of the allotment so she can deliver food parcels to those in need.
Carly said: "Going forward, we carry on going. We're moving the other way, and trying to dig up as much as we can to get as much veg in the ground as we can. But affecting 300 people - that's a lot of veg in the ground I've just lost.
"On that land, we can't plant at all. Nothing will grow, so we're going to have an outdoor space with a tea and coffee area.
"We're going to invite the community over and have meal nights instead. All I can do at the moment is keep cracking on, I can't do anything else."
Last summer she made headlines after she “panicked” amid rising food and petrol prices.
Although she started by growing her own food, she soon saw how she could help others and so dug up her flower beds and replaced them with more produce.
She now shares her story on social media and said she has fed more than 1,300 people with her homegrown veg that she puts into care packages.
Carly revealed what had happened in a heartbreaking TikTok and has been fundraising to help her cause. You can click here to donate.
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