Garden vandals strike again

A PAKENHAM couple is starting to believe that the grass is greener on the other side after vandals ripped up their garden for the second time in nine months this week.
Lew and Joan Neale awoke on Monday to discover someone had attacked their wellmanicured front garden and left more than 15 camellias almost in disrepair.
The attack comes at a time when Mr Neale is starting to question the safety of Pakenham and the behaviour of some of the area’s youth.
“It looks like someone with a pushbike or motorbike has just torn up the plants and ridden over them,” Mr Neale said.
The 80yearold is now restricted to only minimal gardening due to a back problem but with help from his wife they manage to prepare a wellpresented yard.
“It just seems so pointless. There is not much you can do about it and it seems to be a worrying trend in Pakenham at the moment,” he said.
The keen gardener has thought about other options to restrict the damage that can be done, including a brick fence and replacing the garden bed with rocks, but hopes the vandals will get off the grass and stop creating havoc in his garden.
Ms Neale echoed the thoughts of her husband and is keen to put the vandalism of their garden behind her.
“It is heartbreaking when you put all that work into it and someone does this,” she said.

Callan Date