Edinburgh key worker, 67, left 'really upset' after garden swing she bought with NHS gift money stolen

A 67-year-old NHS social worker had a luxury outdoor swing stolen from her garden in Restalrig Avenue, Edinburgh when she was away at work on Monday.

Lynda Flex – who works 20 hours a week – used the money she got from the Scottish Government £500 pro rata thank you to NHS workers to pay for the £350 three-seated swing.

Ms Flex, who normally works in day care and is currently doing remote support and home visits said she has been left “really upset” since the swing disappeared.

She said: "I’m just really upset and I’m just so mad that somebody has done this.

Lynda Flex, a 67-year-old NHS social worker , had her luxury outdoor swing stolen from her garden in Restalrig Avenue, Edinburgh when she was away at work on Monday (Photo: Google Maps).

“I know I shouldn’t be crying over this but it's the final straw.

"Quite frankly, I can’t afford to buy another one right now.

“I want whoever took this to know that I’m a key worker and that this was my thank you.

"I wanted to buy something that would last me a long time and when this pandemic is over and we are all back to normal I can sit there and think I did a really good job.”

When Ms Flex left for work at 9am, the swing was still in its box beside her old garden swing which was falling apart.

But when she returned home just after 4pm, it was gone.

Ms Flex mentioned that the the key to her garden backdoor was also missing following the incident.

Believing it could be a two person theft, Ms Flex described the weight of the box.

She said: “It was in a really heavy wooden box and it was only part of it - there’s still another part to come. The guy who brought it really struggled – it’s really heavy.”

Ms Flex also mentioned that a no-longer-working yellow strimmer, which she put beside her outdoor bin, disappeared yesterday after her husband spotted a man walking down a lane at the back of their house.

"I can’t say that was the same person, but we have told the police about this as well,” Ms Flex said.

A neighbour across the road has also offered to check through their CCTV to see if they caught the alleged thief or thieves disappearing via the back lane.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said enquiries are ongoing following the theft.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.