IPSWICH: Cops are today hunting green-fingered thieves - who pinched an Ipswich man’s front garden!

The dad-of-two had laid the 100sq ft artificial lawn to spruce up the look of his Bramford Lane home.

But now he has been left to foot the �250 bill of replacing the artificial lawn after it was pinched during a night-time raid.

“I’m absolutely seething over it, I really am,” said Mr Woolnough, 54.

“How dare someone have the cheek to steal what I have had to work hard for.

“You try and make your house look nice and someone comes along and steals what you have got.”

The Ipswich Star has put up a �250 reward for any information which leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

The bizarre theft took place between 10.30pm on March 19 and 6am the following day.

A police forensic team scoured the garden after footprints were left behind by the thieves.

Mr Woolnough, 54, said: “I have had it in my garden for the past six years.

“During the small hours someone decided their need for it was greater than mine.”

One attempt had been made to take the fake turf before but the perpetrators gave up because of the weight of the material.

Grandfather-of-four Mr Woolnough is convinced that this time the offenders had properly planned the crime.

“Whoever did it knew what they were doing because they knew the weight of it,” he added.

“I have not had my garden stolen before – it’s quite strange.”

Mr Woolnough, a systems IT consultant, said he has no intention to lay down artificial turf again unless he forks out on CCTV cameras.

Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

A Suffolk police spokeswoman said: “This is a very unusual incident, and it would have taken some time to remove such a large quantity of artificial turf from this garden and needed a vehicle to take it away.

“Officers want to speak to anyone who may have seen any suspicious persons or vehicles in this area overnight Monday and Tuesday last week.”

If you were in the area at the time, or spotted the artificial turf being taken away, call Suffolk police on 101.

? Have you been a victim of a strange crime? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail starletters@ archant.co.uk