Stroke victim devastated by thieves' raid

THIEVES who raided a garden and stole a bird feeder and solar lights have been accused of robbing a disabled stroke victim of one her "few simple pleasures".
Caroline Stewart, 61, suffered a stroke in 2006, which left her paralysed down one side and reliant on the care of her husband Bill and a carer. Her life now revolves around her home and garden, on Barclay Way in Livingston, and she enjoys watching the birds feed from the double feeder outside her window and admiring the garden which was lit by eight solar lights in the evening. However, the couple awoke on Tuesday morning to find the bird feeder gone and all but one of their solar lights missing. The remaining solar light was found smashed beneath the rotary washing line. Bill, 61, a retired special constable who was recently made redundant from Bank of Scotland subsidiary Intelligent Finance, said: "When she's not watching television or reading, she likes to look out of the French windows and see the birds feeding. "We've even got a woodpecker comes by, and my wife loves it when 'Woody' comes to visit. Now the feeder is gone, along with the solar lights. I found one of them smashed beneath the whirlygig in the garden. "It just seems so pointless. Who would want to steal a bird feeder? "The total value of the items stolen came to over £100.
However, it's not the first time the Stewarts' garden has been wrecked in recent months. In June, a car backed into their garden shed in the early hours of the morning before speeding off. Mr Stewart added: "I heard a crash and thought Caroline had fallen out of bed, but when I saw she was safely tucked up I went to investigate and found the shed sitting at a 45-degree angle in the garden. The power washer was also crushed, which I didn't discover until I tried to use it and the water poured out of the sides like Niagara Falls and I got absolutely soaked. "It cost us about £300 to replace everything, which we claimed on the insurance, but now we're going to have to spend more money replacing the stolen lights and feeder. "Although the value of the items was quite small, I contacted the police to let them know that someone may be prowling around the area looking for things to steal. "As a former special constable I know that the police would not devote a great deal of resources to investigating or publicising such a small crime, but I figured if we spoke out it would at least let people know to be on their guard."
Lothian and Borders Police confirmed they were investigating the theft of garden items.

(Reproduced from news.scotsman.com 10th September

GARDIEN TIP: Make access to your garden as difficult as is reasonably possible. Follow the advice at http://www.garden-security.co.uk/garden-crime-prevention.aspx