Over £1,000 Worth Of Tools Stolen From Wrexham Garden Project

Callous thieves took over £1,000 worth of tools in a burglary at a Wrexham garden project which helps those in adult social care.

Thieves gained access to Erlas Garden Project on Bryn Estyn Lane via the roof late on Sunday night and stole chainsaws and hedge cutters believed to be worth £1300.

Thankfully police quickly arrived on the scene and were able to retrieve the majority of the stolen items.

Wrexham.com followers reported seeing a number of police cars racing down the road at around 11pm and the police helicopter was also up overhead.

As reported yesterday police told us that the activity was linked to suspicious behaviour and an attempted burglary on Fenwick Drive, however it appears that police were attending two separate incidents.

Last week two CCTV cameras at the project’s Victorian walled garden were smashed and put out of action, possibly in preparation for the theft so that the culprits would not be seen arriving or taking the tools away. We are told it could cost the charity up to £600 to replace them.

It’s not the first time the garden project has targeted, several weeks ago the Victorian walled garden at the premises was damaged by vandals and it has also been broken into once before.

The Erlas Garden Project is run in partnership with Wrexham Council’s Adult Social Care department and other public bodies and provides specialised training and support for a group of up to 40 adults with learning and mental health disabilities.

Liz Williams, a project worker, described the break in as “very sad” she said: “Thieves broken in through the roof late on Sunday night and a number of chainsaws and hedgecutters worth £1300 were taken.

“The alarm system went off and security called the police. Luckily the police helicopter was already up and they found those responsible. Thankfully they were able to recover most of what was taken too although one chainsaw is still missing.”

“The walled garden was targeted by vandals not long ago. It’s very sad as with recent cuts there’s not much funding for adult social care to repair the damage and the last time we were burgled it wasn’t covered by the insurance.”