Police patrols have increased around Windsor Castle amid concerns about fruit thieves.
Thieves have been breaking into allotments around the British royal residence - Queen Elizabeth's favourite weekend retreat - in Berkshire, South East England, and taking "industrial quantities" of gooseberries, strawberries, blackberries, runner beans and other crops, prompting fears they could next target the two working farms attached to the royal estate.
Around 50 kilos of fruit have been taken from the allotments, which are adjacent to a field of royal sweetcorn and close to the Royal Farm Shop, over a two-week period, causing the owners to speculate the produce is being sold on the black market, not just for personal consumption.
Jim Snapes, chairman of the Old Windsor Allotment Association, told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "It would take some time to pick what they were stealing.
"It was on an industrial scale, particularly with the amount of gooseberries being stolen. The amount being taken had never been seen on that scale here before.
"If someone really determined wanted to gain access to the royal land adjacent to our own, it would not be too tough."
A spokesperson for the Windsor Castle estate said that they were not aware of the thefts.
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