A GREEN fingered thief has been raiding Grange Promenade Gardens of its new prized plants before the soil has even settled, reports Ellis Butcher.

A team of volunteers who put in hours of spare time to add some floral colour to the tourist attraction say the attractive items are disappearing just hours after they have been put in.

Grange-over-Sands Civic Society maintains the gardens under contract to South Lakeland District Council, and has now urged people to keep their eyes peeled for the flower picker.

Margaret Robinson, project manager for GCS, said thefts had been happening for the last five years but were becoming more frequent with half a dozen plants taken within the space of a week.

Volunteers and supporters, consisting of a band of ten mainly retired people, have been working to improve the gardens which

are often complimented by visitors and residents.

Mrs Robinson suspects the thief must be a regular user of the promenade and appears to have watched the plants being put in before returning later to rip them out from the roots.

She said: "Last year we had a lot of plants disappear and it is just starting to happen again. Half a dozen have gone within the space of a week.

"They are all new plants and as soon as we put them in they tend to disappear. It must be a regular user of the prom because they know where we are planting and they come back later and take out what they want. Normally they would take one from a patch but it was half a dozen this time."

Items stolen have included potentilla bushes, arabis and fuchsias. Mrs Robinson explained how one dedicated volunteer was almost in tears after the plants she had carefully tended were stolen.

"She planted the half dozen that have just gone and with the weather being as as it has she has been going down and watering them in the evening. But we are not going to give up!"

Every legitimate worker on the promenade displays clear identity badges complete with the GCS logo and the group suggests people should challenge or report anything suspicious to police.

Cumbria Police spokesman Mike Smith said: "Not only is it stealing but it is depriving the whole population of Grange and their visitors of a particularly nice attraction. The person who is doing this may not think they are doing any harm by taking one, but if everyone takes one you have a problem and it will have a big impact."

Anyone with any information should contact Kendal Police on 01539-722611.

April 25, 2003 09:31