Woman horrified to come home from shops to find her patio was 'taken' by council

A woman was left gobsmacked after she returned home from the shops to find the council had taken her patio.

Laurie Penny, from North London, had popped out for a few hours shopping but when she returned each and every patio tile had been carefully taken from her back garden.

The furniture however had been neatly stacked to one side, MyLondon reported.

Whilst some might assume esoteric thieves might be responsible for it, Laurie noticed that scaffolding had been set up to access the now-stolen patio.

She noted: " Thieves don’t generally tidy up afterwards. Or stack the furniture so neatly,".

So she took to social media to ask her council what had just happened.

Instead of being able to relax after her shop, Laurie had to figure out where her patio had vanished to (stock picture) (Getty Images)

Addressing the council, Laurie tweeted: "This is awkward, but yesterday, I had a patio that I quite liked.

"This morning I popped out to the shops for a couple of hours, and now it’s…well, um, it’s gone.

"I know you’re busy, but could you tell me who took my patio, and perhaps also why?"

Islington Council confessed to the patio-nabbing - but said they had done so to renew their waterproof membrane after a serious leak at the property.

They did admit that Laurie should have been informed that her patio would be removed and apologised.

A spokesperson for Islington Council said: "Islington Council is committed to ensuring that everyone in the borough has a place to live that is safe, secure, and comfortable.

“Due to a serious leak at this resident’s property, it’s been necessary to remove patio tiles at the property and renew the waterproof membrane.

"The resident should have been contacted by the contractor in advance of the work taking place but, regrettably, this did not happen.

“The council has reached out to the resident to apologise, to discuss any concerns, and to reassure her that the patio will be fully reinstated."

They added that the work to replace Laurie's patio was nearly complete and should be done so by Monday, September 5.

Laurie took the entire incident well. She said: "It was a hilarious mess up, but it has a happy ending. By next week I should have a new patio!"