WAR hero and keen gardener Patrick Churchill now has an army of volunteers to help with his allotment.

As previously reported in the Oxford Mail, the 91-year-old was told he needed to give up the Witney allotment he has had for 20 years after struggling to maintain it over the winter.

Witney Allotment Association (WAA) said his plot fell below the standards demanded in its tenancy agreement.

The WAA later agreed to let Mr Churchill keep his allotment after more than 1,500 people signed a petition and he divided the plot in half to make it more manageable.

Over the weekend, other allotment holders and friends helped him restore it to its former glory, and now Oxfordshire army cadets have offered to help.

Colonel Daren Bowyer, commandant of Oxfordshire (The Rifles) Battalion Army Cadet Force, said: “I was appalled to read about Mr Churchill being threatened with loss of his allotment if he does not maintain it.

“While I understand the allotment association’s need to ensure all plots are worked, there needs to be a bit of leniency and understanding.

“We will have cadets who would be delighted to help out a D-Day veteran. It would be part of their ‘Cadet in the Community’ activity as well as quite simply the right thing to do.”

Prime Minister and Witney parliamentary candidate David Cameron said he “very much welcomes” the WAA’s decision to allow Mr Churchill to keep his plot.