The owner of an allotment destroyed by saboteurs has received more £250,000 in donations.

Carly Burd, 43, from Harlow in Essex, transformed her garden to help feed people during the cost of living crisis, but the fruit, vegetables, and soil were damaged in the apparent attack.

In Ms Burd’s initial TikTok video, which was viewed by millions, she said she was “heartbroken” after 5kg of salt was poured on the soil – ruining her crops.

But she said she had been left overwhelmed by the amount of money raised – which smashed her £4,000 target.

“I actually get anxiety when I look at [the money] I’m not joking. I have to get my son to check it”, she said.

“It’s mind-blowing. I did all this on nothing. I got from eight-foot brambles to down here with nothing. And now I have this money and I can do so many things to help our community.”

The avid gardener received donations from celebrities including Gary Lineker and BBC Dragon Steven Bartlett, and the influx hasn’t stopped.

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The allotment owner described how the destruction “hurt [her] so much” more because she had been on the patch with two children two days before it was salted.

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“One was only five [who sat] for an hour and a half planting onions for someone else,” she said.

“That’s why it hurt me so much. I can just pick myself up and carry on [as I] get knocked down all the time.

“The thought of those children planting them and they were so happy they were going to help someone else. Then for someone else to do that was just… why?”

However, she is back to reaping her organic produce and feeding people.

Ms Burd plans to sow root vegetables given their sustenance, durability through the winter and suitability for freezing, as “lettuce [won’t] fill you up”.

A police investigation has also been launched to find the culprits behind the attack.

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