Individuals who own allotments are more likely to be interested in healthy eating than those who purchase their produce, one expert has said.

Donna McDaid, national secretary for the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (NSALG), suggested that fresh, nutritious food is more readily available when it is home grown.

She continued: "If you look at vegetables in your supermarket and the origin, you can buy sugar snap peas from Chile.

"If you take that into consideration, you are reducing air miles by growing your own crops."

Ms McDaid highlighted that home cooks who grow their ingredients themselves will be able to taste the difference in terms of freshness compared to if they went to a supermarket.

Figures from the NSALG show the average cost of running a 250 sq m allotment stands at £202 per annum.

Furthermore, the minimum value of the produce worked out at £1,564 per plot.