Struggling to find a cheap water butt... help!

Evening all,

I have been looking to buy a water butt for my allotment but so far the cheapest I can find is on ebay (210 litres for £26 - includes delivery)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/210L-Litre-45-Gallon-Water-Butt-Rain-Collecting-Bosh-Barrel-Plastic-/221477997173?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Garden_Plants_Bird_Bath_Feeder_CV&hash=item33911e0a75#shpCntId.

This is much cheaper than argos (£40!), amazon (£50) & Toolstation (£75!!).

I looked for IBC's on ebay and found something but the delivery was 99p per mile and it was a 100 miles from me so it far eclipsed the items value.

What can I do?

I need 2-3 water-butts but the cheapest I have found means it it will add up to £78 - is this too much to pay? Surely I can find cheaper alternatives?

Thank you for your help,

Samuel

Wander round any local industrial estates and see if anyone has any ibcs or big blue barrels outside- its really hard to get free stuff off of companies in the UK, given waste-processing licenses and all, but its worth trying!

Also ask any local community gardens or allotments- they tend to know the people who might be giving away rain barrels and things. I find the big blue barrels are easiest to get hold of.

I'd also ask on gumtree or freecycle- there's quite often compost bins and water butts going on ours (I'm in the Midlands though).

I got mine from the local 'wilkos'- all purchased a broken or leaking waterbutts for about £3 for 210 litres, fixed them up with glue! It helped that I used to work next door though- so I could keep an eye out on the reduced trolley, and get to know the staff so they would save things for me.

That sounds cheap compared to here. They are running $80 each for food grade ones in the midwest US.