AN angry mum says her housebound son has been left devastated by thieves who constantly steal from the garden she tends for him.

Mary Graham says her son Nicholas "lives" for the pretty plot she cares for at the family home in Brickfields, Worcester.

He has suffered from ME - the chronic fatigue syndrome - for the past nine years and can only walk as far as the garden and back.

She spends most days looking after the back and front gardens, planting new flowers to cheer the teenager up.

But during the past 18 months, dozens of garden gnomes, statues - including Snow White and the seven dwarfs - shrubs and pot plants have vanished. She has lost count of the number of thefts.

The final straw came on Friday when two hanging baskets, packed with special varieties of begonia and geranium, were stolen in the middle of the night. They had only been there five days.

Spineless

"I've had enough now," said 48-year-old Mrs Graham, who heard noises at around 2.20am but could not see anyone in the garden.

"Whoever's doing it must be completely spineless to steal from a disabled lad. The garden's his life - he's got nothing else."

She says every time she introduces a new statue or plants shrubs, the thieves strike, and now fears the culprits might be watching her.

But she has vowed they will not put paid to her crusade to brighten up her son's life and has begun cementing pots and statues to the ground.

Depressing

"I just want them to stop," she said, speaking from her home in Lime Avenue.

"It's really depressing us.

"We've been trying to make the garden bright and cheerful for Nicholas, and they just ruin it.

"We put a new gate on two weeks ago, and they've even tried to take that."

She said neighbours had complained of similar thefts - and said one pensioner had even had fence posts dug up from her front garden.

But she has so far not reported the incidents to the police because she feared they could do nothing to help.