Theft of valuable wrought-iron gates from South Park Gardens

Six-foot high wrought iron double gates worth approximately £10,000 were stolen from South Park Gardens in Wimbledon at around 5.30am on Monday 14 January 2002.

Two men wearing high visibility jackets stole the valuable six-foot by nine-foot park gates by removing the hinges. They drove away in a white van after speaking to a lady walking her dog, who later reported the incident as suspicious.

The Trinity Road entrance to South Park Gardens now has temporary fencing in place, which causes inconvenience for the park users, as they have to walk round half of the park to get in from a different entrance.

Merton Council?s Parks Operations Manager, John Tweddle is appealing for further information: ?I would like to urge any joggers, dog-walkers or early workers who saw the white van or the two men in the area to contact me. Also if anyone has recently brought, or had fitted, gates matching the description then please let me know as soon as possible.

?Merton Council apologises to all residents who have been inconvenienced by the theft and the subsequent closure of the Trinity Road entrance to the park.?

If you have any information about this incident please contact John Tweddle on 020 8545 4114.