Robert the Allotment Cat and Friends

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And this sense of community is something which is also valued by 36-year-old Mark Foster, who’s had his own plot for just over a year now. The Tweet has sparked a huge response. Captain Mánkas said: “This is so so sad.Dear Robert,we will miss you terribly. Run free buddy, our Angel pals will welcome you at The Rainbow Allotments.”

And she says that having her plot to turn to in the current climate has been an "absolute saviour" for her – though she admits that she came across the allotments completely by chance. I’ve always liked having gardens, and then I moved into a flat and I didn’t have any outdoor space at all,” she says. A cat from Birmingham who has built up a huge following on social media and has spearheaded a campaign to maintain access to the allotments where he lives has died. Robert the allotment cat, lived at Walsall Road Allotments in Perry Barr, and there were fears he would be abandoned when Birmingham City Council imposed a car ban during the Commonwealth Games this summer. I was just driving past one day and there was a huge poster on the fence saying ‘Save Our Allotments’, and I thought "there’s allotments there?" The new plot holders are absolutely fantastic. There’s one chap who’s taken over a really badly overgrown plot, and in three weeks he’s dug it from one end to the other.The allotments have been invaluable over the past couple of months. I haven’t been working, I’m a supply teacher and the school is closed, and if I didn’t have the allotments to come to I’d have gone stir crazy I think. Plot holder Kate Millington at the allotments - image courtesy of Kate Millington

You can come and either do stuff quietly by yourself or you can just say hello to people in passing.” Because it’s great exercise, and because of the operation on my leg I couldn’t do a lot of the stuff I used to do. So what would the allotment users say to someone thinking of indulging their green fingers by taking on a plot of their own? It’s the sense of community. It’s really good, you can learn so much, and because we’ve got so many nationalities you learn about what they grow in their own country, and how they grow it and the different ways they grow it. So there’s lots to learn from different people.” Not a lot of people get the opportunity to get that bit of fresh air and exercise. And even though we’re socially distancing you’re still keeping in touch with the people at the allotment, you get used to the faces of the people that should be there, what their routine is, and it’s quite good to stay in touch with people.”You can still chat with people at a very safe distance – probably five metres away when you’re chatting, because they’re on their plots.