One woman vandalized said she was “overwhelmed” after celebrities and members of the public donated more than £190,000 to her initiative within hours.

Carly Burd helps feed struggling households in Harlow, Essex.

She was “heartbroken” when she saw that the soil was contaminated with salt right after 300 onion roots were planted by disadvantaged children in the locality.

As donations grew, she said she was “so grateful and speechless”.

After she posted a tearful video of the devastation of the allotted land, donations to her fundraiser skyrocketed from around £2,500 to £190,000 in just 24 hours.

Ms Burd initially started fundraising last September with the aim of raising £4,000 to support equipment to sustain her allotment project.

Essex Police confirmed officers would visit Ms Burd at the property to offer assistance and “identify any offenses.”

This mother-of-three has been providing food packages to more than 1,600 people since September, through crops grown in her garden, distributions and donations.

“Thank you so much everyone,” she said, “we’ve worked so hard and it’s been a hit to have [the damage] then having people come back and do so much is absolutely unbelievable.”

Messages of support included one from football pundit Gary Lineker who tweeted: “Why would you do something like that?”

The former England international’s name was later listed in the top donation list on her fundraiser.

Speaking to BBC Essex, Ms Burd said she had “never been so hurt in her life when it happened”.

“It’s brutal, I can’t think of anyone who could be so cruel… it’s insane,” she said.

“Then when people started to stand up and support us, it was like we were in a whirlwind… we were very, very, very grateful.

“I’m really speechless, I’ve never been so mesmerized.”

Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett has donated £2,000 and told the BBC he was “very touched by her story”.

After hearing the Dragon’s Den star also said he “would love to get more help”, Mrs Burd said that “honestly means the world”.

“We’re lost right now, we’re just normal people from Harlow so in this position we’re a bit stunned, so having that extra help means a lot to us. ,” she said.

With the money donated, she said, she could buy equipment to help with the “sort of” distribution.

“I can buy a rotator and I can do it myself and I don’t have to rely on people… I can actually use it myself and that’s a big help.

“I can sort out all the allocations and we can run it – it would be great for our community, we really need it.”

On her fundraising website, Ms Burd says she has multiple sclerosis and lupus, and being “disabled” means she understands how difficult it is to cope with the rising cost of living.

“So I turned my garden into an allotment to give pensioners, state pensioners and people with free organic fruit and veg an income. low along with the necessities.”

Ms Burd added that she is now working quickly to get her initiative registered as a charity.

“[We want to] make the biggest impact [and see] how can we use this money to literally change our home town,” she said, “let the community work together, open more parcels of land and provide food for the most vulnerable”.

“I’m not going to waste it. It’s more than my dream come true, it means we can help people,” she said.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “At this time we do not believe we have received a report regarding this incident, however we are aware of a video circulating online.

“We are currently planning to visit the property to assist the woman and identify any offenses.”