AN AWARD-WINNING front-garden in Royston has been vandalised by having a metre high lamp ripped from it.

Mr Keith Blows was awoken by his grandson on Wednesday (6) morning who was calling round, and looked out to notice one of his three electric lights was missing.

The plot had been crowned Best Front Garden in the 2010 Royston in Bloom awards.

Mr Blows said: “My grandson came round this morning and I saw that the light was missing. It must have been ripped from the concrete because it was screwed in with bolts.

“The wires are everywhere now, and it doesn’t look right. I think the thief must have thought they were solar powered, so he could remove them easily, but they are electric.”

The retired electrician took a whole day to wire the three metal lights to a switch in his house, and had switched them off at about 9pm on Tuesday night.

“I put a lot of work into it, including the wiring it up to my house and bolting them into the pavement. It really enhanced the garden. I think someone liked the look of them, jumped over the gate and had it away with them.”

Mrs Primrose Blows, who maintains the garden, said: “I just can’t understand why someone would do this. It’s sick.

“We had a basket stolen from our garden last year, and when we put them up now we have to put a cage round them to stop it being taken again. We shouldn’t have to do that.”

Mr and Mrs Blows have told the police, but as of yet there are no clues as to who took the light.

Do you know anything about the light being stolen? If so contact Royston police station on 0845 3300 222.