A fundraising appeal has been launched after a community shed built by a group of allotment holders in memory of a friend was destroyed in an arson attack.
The shed at the allotments in Romanby was burnt down on April 17.
Led by founding member Jon Stephenson, the group, known as the Allotmenteers, had been growing vegetables for charity in memory of their friend Paul Brennan, who was known as Bren.
Jon said: “Following the death of our friend Bren, we set up a memorial fund in his name with Herriot Hospice Homecare to say thank you for all the help and comfort they provided to him and his family.
“Bren passed away on the November 4, 2019, so to mark his anniversary we all got together and decided to build a community shed naming it ‘Bren’s Den’ in his memory – to provide a space for plot holders to meet and shelter from the elements.
“We decorated the inside with some irreplaceable personal possessions and old music posters, we even painted a Mondrian canvas on the back and the inside ceiling red and white for his beloved Middlesbrough FC.
“We’ve been building it all through the winter. It’s taken months of hard work by friends, family and local businesses, who kindly helped by donating some of the building materials.
“In the final push to finish it before the end of lockdown, we all had a whip round to buy the remaining materials needed to build a decking area and extend the roofing – so that we could have an outside meeting space to sit on and enjoy the coming summer.
“I was so happy last week to finally take my 84-year-old Mum for a picnic in the sunshine on our new veranda. She loved Bren and was so proud of what we had all built in his honour.”
Jon said the group was heartbroken that the shed had been destroyed.
“We got so many messages of goodwill and support from the local community that it felt like the whole of Northallerton was behind us in our heartfelt worthy cause.”
A fundraising appeal to help the allotment users rebuild the shed and continue raising money for Herriot Hospice Homecare has been launched.
For more details click here.
North Yorkshire Police are appealing for information on the incident.
Please call 101 or if you wish to remain anonymous Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Please quote incident reference 12210100309.
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