Telford pensioner's anger as flowers swiped by vandals
A Telford pensioner who looks after blooms to brighten his community believes thieves who pinched his plants "want their fingers chopping off".
Retired Alan Rutter, 78, has been painstakingly pruning the flowers he's planted in Cluddley, near Wellington, for the last 35 years.
But the street has recently become target of a spate of thefts which have ruined Alan's displays.
Last week six geranium plants with other flowers mixed in were stolen, and then at the weekend another was swiped.
That was the final straw for Alan, who planted the geraniums in memory of a neighbour who died recently.
He said: "They want their fingers chopping off. We lost our neighbour recently. She always used to stop and comment on how nice the geraniums were so I planted them for her."
Alan believes the thief is more likely to be someone wanting the plants for their own garden, rather than a mindless vandal.
He added: "If they are desperate for plants, they should come and see me and they can have some. I've got loads. Just don't wreck the display. They take a lot of time to put together and I do it for the community to make the road look nice."
