A RETIRED lecturer and her Commonwealth Games medal-winning husband are refusing to leave their Highgate allotment after a row with the Town Hall which they claim erupted over a single willow sapling.

Rosalind and Ali Juma have been tending their cherished patch of fruit trees and root vegetables at Fitzroy Park Allotments for 18 years, but are now facing eviction by Camden Council after being accused of allowing their plot to become messy.

Ms Juma said: “I just don’t understand it. If they’d said it’s because the waiting list is so long, I’d understand. But it’s because of one willow sapling that we removed straight away.”

The couple, who live in Albert Street, Camden Town, said they were told by the Town Hall they were being evicted because they had ignored three requests to remove the willow sapling, which had sprung up on the edge of their plot. 

But Mr Juma, 75, who was born in Kenya and moved to London as a professional boxer in 1963, said that as soon as the offending plant was identified by a council officer, it was removed. 

“He showed me and I took it out straight away,” he said. “I’ve kept it looking nice and cultivated all these years.”

A member of the allotment’s association, who contacted the New Journal and asked to remain anonymous, said the couple had been sent more than 20 letters about the lack of maintenance of their plot, pointing out that there was a 900-long waiting list for the allotments. 

The Juma’s plot has for nearly two decades produced a yearly crop, including spinach, potatoes, pumpkins, strawberries and rhubarb. 

Ms Juma, who taught at adult education colleges across London before retiring, said: “I just want to get back and get the season started. We’ve been unable to tend it for six months, because of the uncertainty. 

“Some of my grandchildren are home-schooled and we were hoping to do a project and give them a little plot. They live in a tower block and don’t have a garden. It would be a nice place for them to see some nature. Now I don’t know what to tell them. It will break their hearts.”

Mr Juma, who won a silver medal in the featherweight boxing division at the 1962 Commonwealth Games, said two apple trees had been removed from the plot without their permission in the last year. 

He started to box while working as a mechanic for the Kenyan police service, winning all but three of his 148 amateur fights. He retired from professional boxing after 37 fights and set up a motor mechanic and sheet metal workshop in King’s Cross. 

“I went 19 fights unbeaten and then I started losing and said no, that’s enough,” he said.

The couple arrived at the allotment this week to find that it had been sealed off with red-and-white tape with a note from Camden Council, dated Saturday, April 4, terminating their tenancy agreement.  

The note read: “Any attempt to enter the allotment site without the landlord’s authority may be a criminal offence and result in prosecution.”

The couple staged a small protest against the decision last week, with four of their 10 grandchildren holding trowels that read “Don’t dig it”. 

Ms Juma said they had considered seeking a judicial review of the decision, but could not afford the legal fees and instead were refusing to leave the plot. 

A council spokesman said: “We are not able to comment on individual cases. However, we have limited allotment plots available and need to manage them to the benefit of all users. 

“Allotment users are obliged to sign a tenancy agreement and we do not terminate tenancies lightly, only when discussions and warnings have not been heeded. We issued a 12-month notice to terminate the tenancy in accordance with the Allotments Act and the tenancy agreement and have recovered possession now that the notice has expired.”