Tony Eastwood, secretary of Gelderd Road Allotments, said they were disgusted by the arson attack on the night of May 1.

The fire service was called but were too late for the £800 shed and all that was in it.

To the members it was more than just a shed, it was a meeting place and a refuge from the world.

Mr Eastwood said: "They call us the last of the summer wine gang, there are six of us, all pensioners who like to get away from it all and do a bit of digging, and get out from under the feet of our wives.

"The shed was where we could go when it rained or to have a cup of coffee in the morning and have a chat."

He added: "What I am most annoyed about was that Arnie Haley, a speedway driver who worked for the parks and loved his gardening, when he died his family gave us a full set of encyclopaedias so that any of us could just look things up when we wanted but they are all gone now."

He said that to replace the shed would cost them £800, far more than any of them can afford.

This was just the latest in a long series of thefts and vandalism that mean members no longer dare to leave tools in their sheds because they will be stolen.

"We have stopped putting locks on our shed because they do that much damage breaking in we let them go in to see there is nothing worth pinching but then this happens and they set light to it instead," said Mr Eastwood.

They also fight an ongoing battle to replace the glass in their greenhouses which vandals smash almost as fast as it can be replaced.

"We thought about three or four of us going up there at night to defend it but we would probably end up in jail and they (the vandals) would end up getting medals," Mr Eastwood added.

They have taken their problem to Coun Robert Finnigan (MBI, Morley North) who said: "They have had some damage in the past but it has been particularly serious this time so later this month we have a meeting with Parks and Countryside and one of our requests is that they look to see if we can find the cash to put palisade fencing around the allotments.

"We had a similar problem down at the allotments on Rooms Lane and found the cash to put fencing up and it solved the problem there, so I am confident we will be able to provide them with the protection we feel they deserve."

A police spokesman said that from Monday there would be an increase in foot patrols across Morley, including Gildersome, from 8am to midnight.

Anyone who knows anything about the arson should contact the police on 0845 60 60 60.