Police plea to grass on this garden raider; CCTV captures suspected thief casing victim's yard

Byline: SOPHIE DOUGHTY

"However, if residents do have items such as this which they want to keep in their garden, they should take photographs of it and ensure it is marked with their postcode so that if it's stolen and then recovered, we can return it."And we're looking forward to later in the summer when the new planting and seeding schemes will have bedded-in to reveal the full effect of the transformation we've managed to achieve.Start by choosing the size of the collage. Tear off two pieces of waxed paper to the desired size. You will be pressing the leaves between the sheets of waxed paper.The gleaming conservatory with its new windows is almost ready and will house a restaurant."Work begins on a new scheme next week to resurface and replace fencing around the tennis courts, which we also hope will be in use again by mid-summer."* REVAMP: The park gates at Park Drive South, above, open on to the new children's play area and, left, the park cafe which has also been upgraded as part of the park refurbishment Pictures by Julian Hughes (JH030511Dpark) * NEW FEATURES: The park lake and, above, the conservatory which will house a restaurant (JH030511Dpark-06/05) Purchase: www.examiner.co.uk/buyaphoto 01484 430000 ext 7778Waxed paperSTOLEN One of the statues taken by thieves SUSPICIOUS One of the suspected thieves is caught on CCTV peering into a garden TREASURED Some of the ornaments that have been stolen from gardens around the Walbottle, Callerton and Lemington areas of NewcastlePhoto of finished project: http://www.crafty-moms.com/fall-leaf-collage.shtml"I'd advise people to be wary about decorating their garden with expensive items.It was decided that the dilapidated conservatory, which is a listed building, would not be demolished.The newly-created ornamental lake is another fine feature."Residents should also look out for suspicious people or vehicles in the area and ensure anything unusual is reported to police as soon as possible.On a rainy day when there's nothing else to do or maybe on Thanksgiving Day while you're waiting for dinner to be ready, bring out the dried leaves and grasses to create the leaf collage.The treasured objects vary from a cherub bird-bath to a stone frog.This project can be done on two different days. One afternoon can be spent outside looking for different colored leaves, pretty ornamental grasses, and interesting flower petals. After the kids have a good collection, have them lay everything out on some newspapers to dry.It was in August 2008 that work finally started on the huge restoration project.

STOLEN One of the statues taken by thieves SUSPICIOUS One of the suspected thieves is caught on CCTV peering into a garden TREASURED Some of the ornaments that have been stolen from gardens around the Walbottle, Callerton and Lemington areas of Newcastle