Vandals burned a shed down to the ground as they went on an overnight rampage through a Shrewsbury allotment, causing hundreds of pounds of damage.

The incident happened in the early hours of Monday at the Castlefields Allotments and follows a spate of break-ins at the site. The fire brigade was out called to the allotments shortly after 1am to put out the blaze.

A number of other sheds were also broken into, with their contents strewn about the site.

Bryn Dodman, the man whose shed was destroyed by the fire and a member of the Castlefields Allotment committee, said he was “gutted” when he found out what had happened.

“All my tools were in there, some of which used to belong to my dad, so I can’t replace them,” he said.

Mr Dodman, who has had a place on the allotment for about 30 years, said other items stored in the shed included his lawnmower and his plant seeds for next year.

“It was all destroyed in the fire. All the tools are just lying by the side of my greenhouse. Half the greenhouse went down as well because of the heat.”

He said it was not the first time his shed has been targeted in recent days, with hammers, screwdrivers and a Stanley knife among the items stolen from his shed last Thursday.

“I went into town on Saturday and got some decent locks that I embedded into the wood. Nothing happened on Saturday night but at 9am on Monday morning I had a call that my shed had been burned down.

“Between last Thursday and Sunday, 20 to 30 sheds have been broken into. People are getting a bit angry with it now.”

Mr Dodman said the arson has already cost him hundreds of pounds, as he spent £100 on replacing glass in his greenhouse, £80 on hiring a skip to clean up the mess and will have to shell out even more for a new shed.

Richard Ewels, a spokesman for West Mercia Police, said the incident was being treated as arson and about £400 of damage was caused to the shed and its contents.

Anyone with information about the incident can call Shrewsbury Police Station on 0300 333 3000 or the anonymous Crimestoppers number on 0800 555111.