A topless thief has been caught on a doorbell camera stealing a prized possession plant from an NHS nurse's front garden in broad daylight. Gemma Brady woke on Friday afternoon from a rest following a night shift to discover an unknown individual had been recorded carrying her plant away from her home in Heol Brown Tycroes, Ammanford.
After sharing the footage online the man returned to the scene to explain he was "f*** steaming" and said he would bring the plant back to its rightful owner but has yet to do so. You can get more Welsh news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Gemma, a junior sister at Glangwili Hospital, had grown the monkey puzzle tree in her front garden since it was a tiny seedling. She said she uses gardening as a form of relaxation and relieving stress.
Having looked at her Ring door camera just before leaving for another night shift she was left shocked to discover a shirtless man had been recorded picking up her plant and carrying it elsewhere at 4pm on July 8.
The 44-year-old shared the footage on social media and the clip had more than 18,000 views in a matter of hours with viewers all puzzled by the baffling behaviour. You can read more stories from Ammanford by clicking here.
"I could not believe what had happened and it left me really confused. I had grown that plant and it helps me to unwind after a stressful time in work," she said.
"He has been back since and said he was 'steaming' but there is no way that was the case as he just carried it out with ease. The only reason it has potentially come back is because of how viral it went. He told me his wife had given him a telling off because he was all over Facebook."
On Saturday the man returned to apologise and said he had woken up with the tree in his living room. He said it was safe and promised to return it after finishing a few jobs he had in the area. Gemma has been left in the dark as another day passed and she has still yet to receive her monkey puzzle tree.
"It has left me concerned that it may be damaged and I am pretty annoyed as his apology does not feel genuine and he is just taking the mick now," she said. "I feel silly for not asking him who he was or getting any contact information so I have to play a waiting game now and rely on him being true to his word."
Gemma has now left the video footage and comments with Dyfed-Powys Police in hopes of successfully retrieving her missing plant. She has also moved another larger monkey puzzle tree into the rear garden to protect it.
"I had planned to cancel the police inquiry into it but I am lost for what to do. What I thought would be a simple resolution hasn't turned out to be the case," Gemma said. We have approached Dyfed-Powys Police for comment.
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