Pigeon lads reprieved by mystery benefactor

Ryhope Colliery closed in the 1960s, but the "pigeon lads" who grow vegetables and keep birds on the allotments in this historical part of Sunderland still remember how to dig themselves in.

But for a last-minute reprieve, the 20 ex-miners, some of them now in their 80s, would have faced the bailiffs this weekend rather than give up their plots to developers.

"Swampy wouldn't have had a look-in with these blokes," said Fraser Kemp, the local MP who has been supporting their campaign. "They've spent their whole lives digging holes in the ground."

Although the men were offered alternative sites after the North Eastern Co- operative Society sold the allotments in 1996, they were determined to stay on the plots which have been in some of their families since the turn of the century.

Last Monday, five days before the 31 January eviction date fell due, word arrived that an anonymous benefactor had bought the land for the men. The donor is a local businessman, but they do not know his name.

John Reid, secretary of the Ryhope Allotment Holders, said he had no idea that help was at hand until a letter from the developer arrived.

"I don't care who it is as long as everything's right. We were talking about picket lines and about stopping there in case they came at night. Thankfully it hasn't come to that," he said.

- Fran Abrams