UNTIL death do us part, said Clare and Jason Bryan as they entered into the holy bond of matrimony.

The newlyweds were hoping to have a similar relationship with the allotment they were given as a wedding present.

But months later Eastleigh Council ordered the keen gardeners off their new plot as outline planning permission was submitted to build houses on the Woodside Avenue plots.

The unusual gift was the brainchild of avid gardener Clare's aunt Alyson Blachford who wanted to do something a bit different.

The Rev David Snugs, who married the couple on September 28, used the present as the basis of his sermon during the wedding, likening the work required to grow plants and vegetables to the effort needed to make a marriage work.

Now Clare, 26, and Jason, 32, will have to rip up their remaining vegetables and move the garden shed to a new plot and begin all over again.

Clare, a trainee NHS accountant, said: "I think it's disgraceful. It's not exactly a good omen for our marriage, is it?

"I don't understand how the council can have the right to take the allotment away from us. It sends a negative message to us.

"They've got to find an alternative site for the allotments so why don't they just build the houses there instead?"

She said there were several brownfield sites around the county which could be used to build houses.

"There are hundreds of people using the allotments constantly and all these waste grounds which are no use for anything aren't being built on," she added.

Her aunt Alyson said: "I'm absolutely disgusted by the council's plans. When will Keith House (the council leader) realise how many lives he is destroying?"

Mr Snugs of St Thomas' Church in Fair Oak said: "It's regrettable at the very least. I look after an allotment myself. You become very attached to the same plot of ground. Even if you're offered another one it's not the same as the one you've developed an affinity with.

"And because it's a wedding present as well I would imagine it's a sense that whatever they're offered is not going to be the same as the one they were given."

Mr House said it was regrettable the couple and other allotment owners had to be removed from the Woodside Avenue plots, which he admitted were of a high quality.

He added it would not be possible to build houses on the sites of the new allotments because they would not be near enough important facilities such as shops.

He claimed the average distance from allotment owners to the new plots they would be allocated would be shorter than currently.

He also said the council would be prepared to move the topsoil from current allotments to their replacements if their owners wished.

He said: "We believe quite passionately in using allotments. That's why we're ploughing £500,000 into providing new allotments."