A COMMUNITY garden has been hit by a theft of equipment worth £700.

The garden, based at the popular Eglinton Park, is part of the Ayrshire Community Trust and the theft has left service users without crucial equipment.

A strimmer, a lawnmower, a drill and a generator were taken between Tuesday and Thursday last week.

Development Worker Ann Wilson explained what the garden was used for, she said: “It is used for volunteer work by a wide range of people including social isolated people, those with addictions and people with learning disabilities. It’s not just for gardening, it is an opportunity to teach people.”

The garden is open three days a week with Ann on site on a Tuesday and her colleague and support worker Mark there on Thursday and Fridays.

But the theft won’t deter users and they will still be there this week, although they may not have the chance to have a cup of tea or coffee as the generator that was stolen was mainly used to boil the kettle.

Ann added: “We will still be there, the users won’t let it put them down.” 

The thieves used a grinder on the doors to gain entry into the unit in Kilwinning and the rest of the belongings were untouched.

The Ayrshire Community Trust are now looking at having CCTV installed to deter any would-be thieves.

A post on their Facebook page has also been shared over 430 times as they look to retrieve the items stolen.

If anyone has any old items they no longer require and would like to donate to the Trust’s Community Garden, please contact Ann on 01294 443044.

Police Scotland confirmed that they had received a report of theft between March 20 and 22.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101.