A campaign has been launched to help a city pensioner whose beloved allotment was destroyed in an apparent late-night arson attack.
William Short, 85, was left distraught by the blaze – at the Guys and Hylton Allotments in St Thomas on Tuesday night – that burned his two sheds to the ground.
The retired farmer feared the damage was so extensive that he would be forced to give-up his beloved hobby of 40 years.
But following the Echo's coverage of his loss, the local community have rallied together in support of Mr Short.
Members of the public offered to donate him a huge number of items, including: a replacement shed, a greenhouse, a compost bin, plants, bulbs and tools.
Now Mr Short, who expressed his gratitude to all the potential givers, is hopeful the collection of items will enable him to continue his allotment.
"I would like to say thank you to everyone who has offered to help me," he said. "People have been so kind and helpful. It's brought tears to my eyes."
The blaze is understood to swept through a total of four sheds at around 11.45pm – burning them to the ground.
A friend in the area informed Mr Short of the fire on Wednesday morning after smelling a fire from his own allotment nearby.
Mr Short arrived at the scene to find he had "lost everything", including his lifetime collection of tools.
He said: "It's absolutely terrible, because everything is gone and nothing is left. I'm heartbroken."
Freda Short, 75, his wife, added: "The allotment kept him sane and gave him something to do – it was his life."
A huge apple tree dubbed the 'King of the Forest' was also badly charred as well as other fruit trees.
Fellow allotment holder Christine Fraser said: "It's a cruel blow but we, their allotment neighbours, will do all we can to try to re-instate their allotment garden and their equipment and try to bring them back into the gardening community."
It was initially thought the cause of the fire was accidental, but Mr Short and his family believed it was started deliberately.
Following a post on the 'I Love Exeter' Facebook page asking for people to help "rebuild his hobby", several people made offers to help.
Dozens of people expressed their shock and disappointment at the fire on the Echo's Facebook page.
Sue Vosper wrote: "He is such a lovely man and loves his allotment I hope they catch the s*** who did this. Hope he doesn't give it up and gets help to put it right."
Jean Wilson wrote: "How sad for the poor man after all his hard work. Sincerely hope it was accidental and not deliberate."
If you would like to donate anything to help Mr Short, call him on 01392 215903.
