Thief steals Croydon front garden — but was caught on CCTV

MAGNOLIAS, dahlias, chrysanthemums, solar lights, irrigation equipment, all stolen ... but the sneaky thief behind the Great Garden Heist in Croydon didn’t realise he was being filmed the whole time.

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A THIEF has been inadvertently filmed stealing virtually an entire front garden from a house in Croydon, including plants, trees, dozens of solar lights and even irrigation gear.

Thien Quach discovered the theft when he woke at 5am last Thursday, and phoned his wife, Celina Ha, a nurse who was on night shift.

The CCTV footage shows the brazen thief at work at 3am, ripping out 11 prized magnolia trees, 10 dahlias, five gladiolas, 10 chrysanthemums, more than 30 solar lights and irrigation.

Ms Ha, 28, said once she received the news she felt “violated, upset and disgusted” and reported the theft to the police.

The front yard after the plants, lights and irrigation was ripped out by the thief.

“My husband called me while I was on night shift just before 5am to ask me if I’d been in the garden removing trees,” she said.

“He then told me someone had been in our front garden stealing them — these plants cost us lots of money and also endless hours in the garden.

“To think that someone could be so cheap to go and steal from another’s garden is absolutely disgusting.”

Now, instead of enjoying Christmas and making her home beautiful for guests to enjoy the festive season, the passionate gardener will be busy repairing the damage.

CCTV footage from Celina Ha’s home of a man stealing plants from her front yard.

The thief was caught on CCTV as he stole from the garden.

“Christmas is when I spend lots of time making the house beautiful for the festive season — just a shame someone has ruined it for us this year.”

Ms Ha, who moved in with Mr Quach last year, posted CCTV of the man stealing the plants to a closed Facebook group hoping someone would be able to identify him.

The video, which shows the man walking up the driveway with a bag and a shovel to dig up and take the plants away, has also been handed to police.

Ms Ha said it would cost about $500 to replace the stolen plants.

“We did all of our own landscaping so have been putting endless hours into our garden,” Ms Ha said.

Celina Ha's Croydon garden before the theft, with the small trees visible in the garden.

“It’s not the value of the plants but the time and effort we have spent over the last year.

“My backyard is filled with edibles ranging from fruit trees, vegetables, berries and edible plants. Hence why I have all my favourite flowers in the front yard.”