CELEBRATIONS are taking place at a York allotment which recovered from a suspected arson attack to mark its 60th anniversary on Saturday.

The Poppleton Road allotments, off Boroughbridge Road, are inviting everybody to join them in their commemorations with an open day and barbecue from 2pm.

There will be a big plant sale on site and tours of the allotment for people to see the different fruits, vegetables and flowers plot-holders are growing.

Peter Bryne, chairman of the Poppleton Road Allotments Association, said: “This is something special for the allotments, anybody can come and there is even the chance for kids to pot some plants.

“You can spend an hour looking round to get a feel for the place – we’d like to make people aware of the allotments.”

Mr Byrne, of Holgate, has owned a plot on the allotments for over 40 years. He said the event has already attracted a lot of interest: “Carr Junior School has included the open day in their newsletter and Poppleton Road Primary School has got posters up about it.”

The allotments, which are owned by the Joseph Rowntree Trust, were devastated by the fire which left the allotment shop so badly damaged it needed replacing.

Mr Byrne added: “It was a sad time for us, seeing all our hard work ruined and we were down in the dumps.

“It felt like the end of an era.”

The allotments were able to run again a year later thanks to the allotment community’s hard work.

They are also holding a show day at Holy Redeemer Church Hall, Boroughbridge Road, York on August 30th from 2pm.