GREEN-FINGERED thieves have been caught on CCTV stealing plants and ornaments from gardens in a crime called “ridiculous” by the victim.

A man aged around 30 and his female accomplice targeted the gardens of houses in cul-de-sac Thakeham Close, Sydenham, last Wednesday (May 25) night.

They pulled up in a car at around 11.30pm and began loading plants and ornaments into a shopping bag before driving away.

However, they were unaware the whole thing was being recorded by CCTV cameras set up by one of the homeowners, 50-year-old Stephen Pollard, who was asleep at the time.

When Mr Pollard woke up the next morning and found his garden ransacked, he checked the CCTV footage and watched the whole incident unfold.

He said: “When they had finished, their shopping bag was so heavy with all the stuff they had stolen it took the two of them to carry it back to the car.”

Mechanic Mr Pollard, who lives with his wife and daughter, says around £200 worth of plants and ornaments were stolen from his garden.

He has reported the theft to Lewisham police, and handed over the CCTV footage to officers.

He said: “You can see the man clearly in the footage. He looks around 30 and has short, cropped hair and glasses. Unfortunately you can’t see the woman so well.”

Mr Pollard added: “It’s just such a ridiculous, pathetic thing to do. They must have planned it, as this is a cul-de-sac so they couldn’t have just been passing by and suddenly decided to do it.

“I suspect someone has been round to my house at some point to deliver something and has seen the plants and ornaments and thought they would steal them.

“Maybe it was someone who wants a nice garden but is too cheap to buy their own plants and ornaments.”