A FESTIVE thief has struck in Middlewich after attempting to steal a conifer tree from a garden.

Tony and Pam Hayes, of St Anne’s Road, woke up on Saturday morning to find that the top half of their 20ft high conifer tree had been lopped off.

Tony, 40, said: “It was cut off about three quarters of the way down – it’s ideal for a Christmas tree.

“At first I thought the wind might have blown it down, but it’s definitely been sawn off because you can see the cut marks in the tree – it fell forward just missing my car.”

The culprits left the loot in the garden after it is thought they got disturbed by the couple’s German Shepard dog Jasper, who was in the garden at the time.

Tony added: “We didn’t hear a thing. Normally we would have had the bedroom window open, but because it was cold we had shut it – it was the only night we had the window shut.

“We think that the dog had disturbed them so they felled the tree and then legged it.”

The couple blame the credit crunch.

Tony added: “We believe it’s because of the credit crunch – some people can’t afford a tree and there are some desperate people out there.

“The opportunity was there and rather than paying £40 or £50 for a tree they thought they would just take mine, but it’s a sad state of affairs when people have to resort to cutting conifers down for a Christmas tree.”

Tony reported the crime to the police who are investigating.

If you have any information call Cheshire Police on 0845 4580000.

What do you think about the festive criminals? Let us know on our website middlewichguardian.co.uk.