THIEVES stole flowers planted by volunteers in Newport, just hours after they were put in to help brighten up the city.

Social housing landlord, Newport City Homes, organised a clean up event in Malpas last week with activities organised for local residents to take part in each day.

Volunteers, both adults and children, helped clear up rubbish around the estate on Wednesday with the use of three skips.

They then cleared up the area around Russell Drive shops, clearing graffiti from the shutters on Thursday.

Children from Malpas Court Primary School helped re-plant the flowerbeds with plants donated by Domino’s Pizza.

But when staff and volunteers returned to Russell Drive on Friday for a litter pick around the area, they found the magnolia trees, which were the centrepiece of each bed, had been stolen.

The incident was reported to the police.

The children, all aged four or five, were going to maintain the flowerbed they had planted and use it as an ongoing school project.

Darwin Drive Neighbourhood Watch had planted the second bed and will look after the maintenance of it.

A spokeswoman for Newport City Homes said: "We are very disappointed that this has happened after the community put so much hard work into the project." Events organised for Saturday carried on as planned with a litter pick with Keep Wales Tidy at 11am and taster sessions in football skills, dance and free running.

There was also demonstrations by Newport Devils cheerleading squad, Torfaen gymnastics parcour squad and music from Newport gospel choir.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Make louts clear up garden

THE levels some people will sink never fail to astound us.

Children and adult volunteers spent time replanting flowerbeds in their community in Malpas, Newport, only for some mindless idiots to come along and steal the plants just hours later.

The children, all aged four or five, were going to maintain the flowerbed they had planted and use it as an ongoing school project.

They also cleared up litter and graffiti as part of a clean-up of the area.

So here we have one group of people taking pride in their community only for it to be wrecked by a group of people who don’t understand the meaning of community pride.

We hope the culprits are found soon.

Destroying the work of children and volunteers and wrecking what would have been a beautiful display is not acceptable in a decent society.

Let’s hope when they are caught, a suitable term of community service, which involves them tidying up the area they were so quick to wreck, is imposed.