21-05-2025
Fed-up homeowner lashes mystery thief over 'dodgy' late-night act
A proud homeowner has slammed a brazen thief who stole plants from his front yard telling the intruder to ditch his late-night antics and 'get a job' instead.
Adelaide man Andy Luke said the garden at the front of his Eden Hills property had been targeted twice in the last three weeks.
CCTV footage capturing the latest theft showed a hooded figure ripping several young English hedges from the ground while an accomplice kept watch nearby.
He left with the stolen plants at about 2.20am on Monday. CCTV also showed the man ripping plants and irrigation from Mr Luke's neighbour.
'It's pretty despicable, I've put a lot of work into this,' he told 7News.
'Instead of driving around at two o'clock in the morning, get a life and get a job and buy your own plants.'
He suspects the thief is selling the plants elsewhere.
'Or they're dodgy landscapers and someone had an order for English hedges and they decided to come and take them,' he said.
A man was similarly captured stealing two freshly-planted shrubs from a garden in the same area just after 5am on April 24.
In March, a green-thumbed thief snuck onto the porch of a home in Findon, in Adelaide's western suburbs, and lifting two large potted plants.
The victim shared footage of the incident to social media.
A local nursery, Foliage Plant Studio,pitched in to help - identifying the pot plants as Strelitzia nicolai, also known as Tree Bird of Paradise.
The nursery estimated they could be worth around $125 each.
'It's not the first time we've heard of that,' owner Gavin Gregg said.
South Australian Police are investigating the theft.
'Police are investigating the incident and ask anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the area to call Crime Stopper,' a spokesperson said.
