CELEBRITY chef and ‘real food’ campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has shown support to the tenants of Coombe allotments near Wotton-under-Edge.

On Saturday, March 21, allotment holders at historical site in Coombe were unexpectedly given a notice to quit by their landlady Sue Ballinger.

Now, following a whirlwind of public support from far afield and close to home, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has shown his support to the group in a comment made on Wednesday,

“When a family has had the pleasure and satisfaction of growing their own vegetables on an allotment for decades, and even generations, then it must be heartbreaking and traumatic to suddenly be told you have to stop,” the River Cottage star said.

“I really feel for the allotment holders at Coombe allotments who have just had that experience.

“I wish them luck with their campaign and I hope they will find a way to keep growing on the site for generations to come.”

The message from Hugh comes as part of a mass of support the group have received since starting their campaign, including celebrity gardener Toby Buckland and candidates for the Cotswolds constituency in the upcoming General Election.

The group recently formed a formal society to help in the fight for their corner called Coombe Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Society, as reported in last week’s edition of the Gazette.

Keep up to date with the latest from the group on gazetteseries.co.uk or by following @FightforCoombe on Twitter.