A community greenhouse has been stripped of plants provoking a new clash between the recently elected Dartmouth in Bloom committee and the old members who have either resigned or been forced out.

And in yet another bizarre twist, the police ended up being called in after the clash allegedly turned violent as the husbands of prominent figures in the on-going row confronted one another inside the greenhouse building itself.

A large number of plants have been removed from the riverside greenhouse – allegedly without the knowledge of the newly- formed bloom group team.

And there are fears that vital gardening tools have also been taken – although that has been rejected by one former bloom committee member.

Paul Thomson, the husband of the bloom group's former publicity officer Sue, was in the riverside greenhouse on Saturday afternoon when he was confronted with Tim Trent, the husband of the group's current secretary, Melanie.

In the argument that followed, Mr Trent claims he was assaulted by Mr Thomson and reported the incident to the police.

Mr Thomson admits there was a 'slanging match' but claims he never touched the other man.

A police spokesman confirmed a complaint of common assault had been made after one man was removing items from the greenhouse while the other man was taking photographs of him.

The spokesman said: 'Both parties have been given words of advice and police will not be pursuing any prosecution.'

Mr Trent said: 'Unfortunately I was assaulted by Mr Thomson as he was removing something from the greenhouse.

'I didn't want to get further involved with Mr Thomson and I felt that the best thing to do was report it to the police.

'My declared wish was that Mr Thomson should be advised about his behaviour and asked to think, and we would drop the matter. That has happened. The PC said he had visited Mr Thomson and it was obviously one gentleman's word against another. I bear the man no ill- will.'

Mr Thomson said of the incident: 'I was removing my own property. I had started to remove things and Mr Trent was outside taking photographs. He came in and was taking photographs. I stood up and told him I did not want him taking photographs of me. He said I assaulted him. I did not touch him. We did have a bit of a slanging match but I did not touch him.'

Dartmouth in Bloom chairman Stevie Rogers said a notice was placed on the greenhouse asking people who may own plants or other property to get in contact so they could be removed to make way for this year's major effort to win a national award.

She said she had been left 'shocked' by what happened next as she claimed former committee members made no effort to make contact but simply went in and took the plants away.

'We now have no idea what has gone,' she said.

But former bloom group publicity officer Sue Thomson claimed the notice had asked people to remove their plants – so they had.

'It's pretty much all done now. They have gone,' she said.

She said that some of the plants had belonged to the former committee members while others had been kept there while people were away on holiday and others had been donated. Mrs Thomson added: 'We have given some of the plants back to the people who donated them.'

The major row, which ended up splitting the Dartmouth in Bloom team, has been played out in public, starting with the resignation of its chairman Paul Allen, who is also mayor of Dartmouth.

Other officer post resignations followed – including Mrs Thomson's – and many of the committee members were left out in the cold when the new committee was formed along with the adoption of a constitution just over a fortnight ago.

The changes at Dartmouth in Bloom have come in the same year the town has been invited by the Royal Horticultural Society for only the third time in the town's history to enter the national section of the Britain in Bloom competition.

They also come at a time when the future of the community greenhouse itself is at risk, with controversial proposals to flatten it to extend the Mayor Avenue car park.

Ms Rogers stressed that the bloom group had been told that its Dartmouth Town Council grant could be at risk unless the group adopted a formal constitution.

'Where there is public money involved, you need a constitution so there is accountability,' she said.

'We are trying our best to win this year but we had to have some accountability as to where the money went,' she added.

She said the bloom group had been buying in its hanging baskets but that would change this year as the bloom team themselves will produce the baskets to go on display in the town – which would involve the community and the community greenhouse.

Of the plants which have been taken from the greenhouse, she added: 'Either the plants belonged to Dartmouth in Bloom and, if so, why have they been taken, and if they did not belong to Dartmouth in Bloom, why were they in there?'

She said they had been taken by previous committee members and added: 'There were a limited number of people who had keys and that was basically the old committee. I want us to move on. We don't want this. We don't even have a record of sponsors because the old committee won't hand that on to us.'

She said there were also concerns that tools had also gone from the greenhouse and added: 'Any donation of tools would be really useful. We are going to need help and need volunteers to help this year. Lots of people have already come forward. A lot of people want to help making the hanging baskets. We need more volunteers and more groups who want to get involved.'

Mrs Thomson said she was 'not aware' of any tools being taken from the greenhouse.

She added: 'I took my scissors when I was in there last week but that's all I know about. There is nothing else that has been removed. It has been very, very nasty all of this.'