A YORK gardening club has thanked its local community, after stolen equipment worth hundreds of pounds was returned undamaged.

The Glen Allotments in Sixth Avenue were opened by residents three years ago, with raised beds as a way to help local residents with mobility problems and children with special needs get into gardening.

Last week, thieves removed the hinges from two sheds and stole a Huzvana L120 tractor, with a registration plate which reads MAC, a back-tipping trailer, emblazoned with Glen Garden Club stickers, a yellow rideon power mower, a red Honda rotavator, a Mountfield lawnmower, a Bosch cordless drill and other power tools worth a total of more than £2,000.

Malcolm Mitchell, chairman of the club, appealed to The Press following the burglary, and two of the items have since been returned to the club.

Mr Mitchell said: “I think the article helped everyone in the community realise this was what the thieves had done to us and the response was amazing.

“We want to thank the public for their response after what went in the paper, the tractor was recovered within 24 hours and the next day someone came into the allotment and said they had seen the trailer which still had the Glen Gardens stickers on.”

After reading about the theft, Huntington resident Rod Walker also contacted The Press, to offer some replacement gardening equipment.

He said: “It’s just pathetic to steal from a group like this. We had a shed on our allotment and we had a strimmer and petrol driven equipment taken. I have just given up an allotment and I have a rotorvator I’d like to donate to them. I thought it was silly to have it just sitting there.”

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said nobody had been arrested in connection with the theft, and urged anyone with information to phone them on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.