Inside U.K. Homeowners, Thieves Alike Following Gardening Boom By STEVE HILL	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
ガーテニングブームで泥棒も発生 英国では今、ガーデニングが大ブーム。庭の手入れをしながらストレスを発散する人が多く、養樹園やガーデニングのテレビ番組は大盛況です。しかし、その人気に比例して、鉢植えから置物、庭木から池の中の魚まで、ごっそり盗んでいく泥棒が増えています。

British people are known to the world over for their love of gardens. But recently, those beloved gardens have become a very real target for thieves. Police forces up and down the country are reporting a worrying increase in crime connected to the sedate hobby of gardening, which has become big business in recent years.

Here in my city of Bristol, in southwest England, a husband and wife returned to their home one day to find that their entire garden had been dug up and stolen. Incredibly, every tree, shrub and bush had been uprooted; ponds had been drained — and the fish they contained stolen; and the pond-liners and pond pumps had been taken in a raid that surprised and saddened many people.

The police, though, were not too shocked. As interest in gardening increases and more and more people spend time tending their plots, the criminal fraternity is realizing that there's money to be made from raiding homes.

In another recent incident, a prize-winning garden in Windsor, near London, was raided, and shrubs, pots and ornaments all disappeared.

And it's not just private gardens that are being targeted. A nursery in the western town of Swindon was forced to call in the police and launch a national publicity campaign when pots containing a poisonous plant were taken.

Eating the leaves and flowers from this particular plant can result in pain, dizziness and numbness — something the police reckoned the thieves had not bargained for when they planned to raid the nursery and make some quick and easy money.

Local hospitals were put on alert to ensure that anyone admitted for treatment could live to tell the tale — to the police, they hoped.

It was also reported recently that a publicity campaign has been launched on the Channel island of Jersey, off the coast of France, to help local farmers halt a massive increase in potato thefts. New potatoes are a vital agricultural export, but growers are facing tough competition from producers overseas, and now, wholesale raids.

It's depressing and worrying news for anyone who has a garden. These days, everything appears to be a target, from hanging baskets to garden gnomes, chairs, tables and hedges — even the prickly varieties!

Police are advising householders to lock belongings such as tools away, and to mark garden furniture with a post code to assist in returning any stolen objects that are found. But the most important advice is simple — if possible, bolt down whatever will move.

So, why should gardens become such a major target for the criminal fraternity now? Well, many British people are trying to spend more time relaxing and winding down from their stressful working lives by whiling away a few hours gardening.

Nurseries are reporting booming business. Brits spend a reported £2 billion (¥340 billion) a year on their gardens and accessories.

Another reason is the proliferation of gardening programs on television that attract massive audiences.

One of the most popular shows features a team of gardeners and designers who descend on a house and, with the consent of one member of the household, complete a makeover of the garden in just two days — without other people in the household knowing.

It makes for gripping viewing, as do other programs that concentrate on increasing public knowledge of plants, shrubs and trees.

More and more people are following the examples shown on these programs and installing water features in their own gardens.

It's become very fashionable to have a pond adorned with pebbles — with the direct result that some beaches in southern Britain are starting to suffer.

Since time began, people have often returned home with a nicely shaped pebble in their pocket after visiting the coast. But unscrupulous raiders are now filling up vans and small lorries with these stones — and there is a very real fear that some beaches will almost disappear if it continues.

It seems that here in Britain we just cannot get enough of gardens and gardening. This year, for example, more than 3,500 private gardens will specially open their gates to visitors under the popular National Gardens Scheme.

The vast majority of visitors, of course, are enchanted by the opportunity to wander around a lovingly tended garden and pleased that the admission money is going to a good cause. But not all. It has been reported that some visitors have used the chance to carry out reconnaissance work for a raid at a later date.

Shukan ST: May 19, 2000

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