Someone has been stealing plants from the Hillside Gardens.
Gone are: 3 red rhododendrons (each 2-foot high); four beautiful deep purple hellebores; a St John's Wort hypericum, yellow-flowered, again 18 inches to 2 foot; plus a couple of ornamental grasses.
A new flowerbed was dug here at the end of last autumn, and the first plants planted. Much more was to follow later this year. This was to be the start of a long-term project improving the area for nearby residents and users of the Royal National Institute for the Blind on nearby Hillside Crescent.
It has all been achieved using donations, grants, and the hard work of volunteers.
Now, though, somebody has stolen about £100 worth of plants, leaving the area nearly bare.
'It's obvious that they're using them in their own garden,' local resident Sue Lannan told Spurtle, 'or have taken them for somebody else with a garden as they have only lifted the plants in the best condition.
'As they are basically stealing from charity and their own community (not even 'just' the Council) they should be ashamed of themselves.'
Lannan suggests that the guilty party should make amends with a financial donation to the Friends of Hillside, perhaps made through a third party such as a local councillor.