Garden gnomes in Wistaston

Reporter Jonathan White, Wistaston

Garden gnomes in Wistaston that received local, national and worldwide fame last year have become the victims of a targeted attack.

Laurence Perry, aged 78, of Westfield Drive in Wistaston, Cheshire woke up on the morning of Monday 13^th August 2018 to discover that twenty-five of his gnomes had been smashed or stolen from his garden and land in front of his home.

All Laurence’s gnomes were superglued to a wooden base panel and ten were either smashed or stolen from a wooden shelf at the front of his garden, whilst a further fifteen gnomes were wantonly destroyed or thieved from a wooden base around a tree on land in front of his house.

The gnomes made national and international news last year when Cheshire East Council removed Laurence’s gnomes after receiving a complaint. The subsequent story received worldwide publicity including the BBC, Daily Mail, Express, Mirror and Telegraph along with newspapers in India and the USA. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40644575

Laurence is a keen gardener who always checks on his premises before heading for bed. He believes that the replacement gnomes were attacked either late on Sunday night or in the early hours of Monday morning. He has previously had one gnome stolen, but it was safely returned by the guilty party the next day. Laurence believes that this incident was a targeted attack by one or more individuals, but he has no idea who would bear a grudge against the gnomes or himself.

The good news is that kind individuals have rallied around in support of Laurence’s mission to bring a smile to people’s faces. A builder has already donated two 4ft ‘Mr & Mrs’ garden gnomes, local residents have donated gnomes and Christian Davies from Alan Davies Car Sales in Crewe has offered to sponsor new gnomes.

Laurence Perry said: “It is sad that people’s enjoyment of the gnomes has been destroyed by one or more persons unknown. However, good has come from bad as I have already received replacement gnomes from generous members of the public. If anyone else would like to donate a gnome to me then you are welcome to drop it off at my house on Westfield Drive in Wistaston. I thank everyone for their continued support.”