TORY party chairman Liam Fox showed furious allotment campaigners his strong allegiance with their row over council plans to build hundreds of houses on their plots.

At a special visit to one of the threatened sites off South Street in Eastleigh yesterday, the party chairman met campaigners to assure them that he would do all in his power to help them fight for their green oasis.

Allotment land at South Street, Woodside Avenue and Monks Way has been earmarked by the council for the development of more than 500 houses.

So far, 16,000 objections from more than 5,000 people have been lodged with the council against the proposed action.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott will be deciding whether the planning application should be cleared or not.

If plans go ahead, it would mean that the allotment sites would be moved to five replacement locations that campaigners claim are unsuitable for gardening purposes because of poor soil and location.

As he walked among the grassy plots with allotment owners in the hot sunshine, Mr Fox said John Prescott could not expect to sit behind his desk in London and order the concreting of the whole of the countryside.

The Deputy Prime Minister has already been contacted by the Conservatives' shadow team to persuade him of the arguments against the council's application.

Mr Fox said: "It seems to me that some of the councils in this country will not be happy until they see urban sprawl from coast to coast. But that is not the only problem - services will be diluted. The allotments are a major part of these people's lives."

Eastleigh Council leader Keith House said: "Conservatives are uninformed of issues in Eastleigh and that is why year after year the people elect Liberal Democrat councillors."

Tony Murrills, Allotments Association vice-chairman, said: "We're pleased with the support Liam Fox has shown us and are optimistic that it will help make some sort of difference."