POLICE are warning people to be vigilant after a spate of garden ornament thefts.

Two antique urns, which could be worth around £3,000, were stolen from the garden of a house in Stoneybank Road, Earby. The natural stone coloured urns are about 2ft 6ins high and have square bases.

They had been cemented down and it would have taken two people to lift each urn.

Five terracotta chimney pots were taken from two gardens in Belmont Terrace, Barrowford.

The three larger ones, which are about 3ft in height, are worth between £40 and £50 each.

The two smaller ones, which measure about 2ft 6ins, are valued at £30 to £40.

Tubs planted with daffodil and tulip bulbs were stolen from the garden of a house in Ronaldsway, Nelson. They would cost about £110 to replace.

A spokeswoman for the crime desk at Colne Police said: "As spring comes a lot of people can't be bothered putting in the work themselves on their gardens or spending the money. They would rather take property from someone else's garden."

She urged people to report any suspicious activity - such as people looking closely at gardens, perhaps under the pretext of offering to do some work.

"If anyone has such a suspicious caller they should take the registration number of any vehicle used and jot down a description.

"It is no problem for us to check it out."

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