A FATHER-of-four has been left devastated after claiming Severn Trent workers ruined his beloved Worcester allotment.

Terry Davies, who has had two allotments at Bromwich Road in St John's for the last six years, is demanding compensation.

The 53-year-old first heard Severn Trent wanted to dig up part of the site when Worcester City Council sent him a letter.

It said that the company was doing maintenance work on a water main in the St John's area and needed to create an inspection hole on the allotments' site.

Work was due to start on October 15.

"When I went up to inspect the area Severn Trent had marked with blue paint, prior to the work, it was mainly on the footpath and hardly affecting my land at all," said Mr Davies, of Malvern Road, St John's.

"But when I went up there last weekend I was devastated because my crops had been ruined.

"There was a tractor on the site and my potatoes and leeks have been destroyed.

"My sadness has now turned to anger because I have spent the last three years using the low dig organic method which has been very hard work.

"I've had a hip replacement and as well as choosing this method for its ecological and environmental merits, I wanted to create an allotment that wouldn't see me having to do a lot of back-breaking work.

"I grow fruit and veg for my whole family all year round and now we've got nothing.

"I want to be compensated because this should not have happened."

Mr Davies, who works for Worcestershire County Council, rents the plots from the city council.

Worcester's parks and cemeteries manager Ian Yates said the council had been up to look at the damage and had made contact with Severn Trent about Mr Davies' complaints.

Severn Trent spokeswoman Gill Turton said the water giant had liaised closely with the city council over work which needed to be carried out and understood it was sending out details to all allotment holders.

She denied the work, which involved digging down to a main which runs across the land, had been more extensive than previously thought.

"Our intention was to minimise damage and disruption. We want to apologise to Mr Davies for the level of damage caused to his allotment," she added.

"We're quite happy to reinstate his allotment to its original condition, or, if that's not possible, to offer appropriate compensation."

Mr Davies was today due to meet with a Severn Trent representative on the allotment site.