Mary Berry and Great British Bake Off blamed for fall in popularity of allotments Interest in allotment plots has declined in recent years Council official believes the Great British Bake Off is to blame Amateur gardeners are now more interested in baking cakes Waiting list for allotments in Cheltenham now 'only 200 people' Britain has abandoned its allotments, and Mary Berry is to blame, local representatives have said. The decline in interest in growing vegetables is said to be a result of amateur gardeners becoming obsessed with baking the perfect cake, in the wake of the success of the Great British Bake Off. Before Berry hit our screens in 2010, allotment sites around the country would have hundreds fighting for a plot, but now, the waiting lists are near non-existent. Blaming Berry: Since the Great British Bake Off, with judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, first premiered in 2010, there has been a steady decline in interest in allotments Since the emergence of the Great British Bake Off, Brits are more interested in avoiding soggy bottoms than getting on their knees in the garden, and no longer line up for allotments. Four years ago when allotment demand was at a peak, every time you switched on the television, someone was growing vegetables. Now every time you switch on the TV, people are baking cakes,' says Fiona Warin, allotment officer at Cheltenham Borough Council in Gloucestershire, said. In 2010, Cheltenham had 465 people on their waiting list, and amateur gardeners would have to wait up to four years for a plot. Four years later, the number has more than halved, and less than 200 people now want an allotment in Cheltenham. Ms Warin says similar drops in interest has been seen throughout the South West Less popular: In 2010, Cheltenham Borough Council had 465 people on their waiting list for allotments, a number which is now 'less than 200' Star bakers: The decline in numbers of keen gardeners lining up for an allotment plot is said to be because it is now more fashionable to bake cupcakes and showstoppers More interesting: This years Great British Bake Off finalists Luis Troyano, Nancy Birtwhistle and Richard Burr She added: 'We know that TV has a huge impact. There was an allotment challenge on BBC a couple of months ago and it caused a big spike in allotment demand overnight, which then dropped right back again. The National Allotment Society said it first noticed the impact of 'Bake Off' around two years ago. National Allotment Society spokesman Allan Cavill said that there is no single cause for the drop in numbers but that the Great British Bake Off is definitely 'a contributory factor. Mr Cavill, 72, said his plot in Taunton, Somerset, used to have a constant waiting list of 50, but now people can get one straight away. There is certainly a generation that took up allotments maybe eight or nine years ago, who have now moved from growing potatoes to making cupcakes. 'But I've been around long enough to know it will all come round again. People will come back - maybe not in my lifetime, but they will. It is just a fickle fashion thing that has led them away.