Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Heartbreak after £7,000 worth of plants are stolen

The owner of a small garden nursery has spoken of her heartbreak after £7,000 worth of plants were taken by thieves.

Sue Huckle, 54, said she burst in to tears when she found 10 gold crested spiral trees, 10 bay leaf trees, hydrangeas, and other potted plants had been taken from her business in East Tuddenham, near Dereham.
The nursery, Posh Plants, based at Mrs Huckle’s home on Common Road in the mid Norfolk village, has been hiring out high-end horticulture to shops, such as John Lewis, and businesses in Norfolk for the past 15 years and were due to be at the Royal Norfolk Show next week.
Mrs Huckle made the discovery on Saturday morning when she noticed the decorative seven foot tall plants, many which have been growing for 20 years, were gone.
She said the thieves had broken the lock on the gate, and parked outside where they loaded the distinctive and heavy plants in.
 
“I love my work, and to think that someone helped themselves to them is heartbreaking”, she said.
“I have built this business up to something which is making me a living. It’s taken a lot of hard work and that’s why it’s so soul-destroying.
“The night the plants were stolen I had done a 14 hour day, but I really love doing it.
“It’s not just financial, but it’s the fact that I have spent so much time on the plants, they’re really special.”
Because of this season’s poor weather, Mrs Huckle said it would take two or three years for any new plants to grow back to the size of the stolen ones.
“In the horticultural trade everything has been so late, so we don’t need more problems like this”, she said.
Norfolk police have said they are appealing for information about the theft which they say happened between 9pm on Friday June 14 and 8.30am on Saturday June 15.
A spokesman said: “The offenders cut the lock on the gate to gain entry to the site and then stole in excess of four thousand pounds worth of plants, including ten gold crested spiral trees, several twisted stem bay trees, and a number of hydrangeas.”
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact PC Sarah Fleet at Dereham Police Station on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
(Reproduced from Eastern Daily Press, 18th June)
Gardien Comment: Obviously a targeted theft - access to the garden needed to be much more difficult and an intruder alarm would also have helped to deter theft. Solutions are available at www.garden-security.co.uk

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