Gardeners beware, thieves are going after manky old hoses now – Hayley Matthews

It's safe to say that everyone seems to be feeling the pinch just now, from the huge hike in the cost of fuel, to the massively rising prices in the supermarkets, to the outrageous cost of utility bills and to everything else in between – it's all a lot to handle.

Hayley Matthews plans to lock up her new hose after thieves stole the old one (Picture: Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

It's a lot to pay for and a lot of pressure for a lot of people.

Those who were previously just managing have been hit hard by inflation and those who were slightly comfortable find that comfort is now discomfort. It impacts so many people and those who you wouldn't normally imagine being impacted are now starting to struggle.

So yes, everyone is feeling the pinch. However, the pinch I'm feeling is a double pinch – from both the cost of living and people pinching some of my stuff. I appreciate things are tight just now but the stealing from my front garden is becoming a bit of a joke.

I'll give you an example. A few months back a passerby decided to help himself to a toy I had strapped to our railing (it made a noise when people passed and the kids found it hilarious).

It only cost a tenner but this guy obviously wanted it so bad that he tried to break it just to get it off the railing – all for a kids toy? His desperation was embarrassing. My neighbour, who has a camera outside, came to the rescue (thanks Derek) and told the guy to do one, and the toy was semi-rescued.

We've also had a big pot of flowers pinched from our front garden. They were beautiful, but still, who steals flowers? The latest pinch-fest though has really bamboozled me because it's an odd item to take.

How I didn't notice it leaving, I'm not quite sure. The item I'm talking about is a 30ft, bright yellow, garden hose. This thing was some size and had a few fancy nozzles on it and did us great for watering the many plants we have. My youngest loves playing with water and was gutted to discover it had been taken.

It was a good weight, a bit of a monstrosity, so surely someone saw it? I'm more confused than annoyed to be honest because who steals a hose? Have things gotten that bad? What next? My deck chair, gardening gloves or my mug of coffee? Just don't touch my geraniums!

I get people pinching cheese and meat, not that I condone it, but some people are struggling to feed their family. They steal because they have no money, but a hose? A massive, manky, bright yellow garden hose? Things must have gotten really bad. It's a sign of the state the world is in financially but it's also a sign of how ridiculous people have gotten.

My plants are all looking a bit parched and despite several runs with the kettle, a jug and a bottle of water, they still need a good hosing down. So it's off to the garden centre for me to get another one to water my garden, plus a chain to attach it to the railing and a heavy duty padlock to make sure that the sticky-fingered hose thief doesn't come back for round two!