A DISABLED woman has been left devastated after thieves took treasured ornaments from her garden.

The ornaments, including stone cats and rabbits covering the graves of Dee Booth's pets, were stolen from the back garden of her home in Hackney Road, Maidstone.

Ms Booth, 54, said while the ornaments were not worth much in money terms, they were of great sentimental value.

She said: "They were put in the garden to mark the graves of my pets and I can't believe someone would actually want to take them. There were also two rather rude statues which really made me laugh and cheered me up and they took those too."

Ms Booth, who suffers with back and joint problems after 30 years of caring for elderly people, added: "I can't get out much now and these ornaments have memories and bring me a bit of happiness."

She said other residents had increasingly suffered from vandalism and theft over the past few years.

"Cars are damaged, stones are thrown at doors and windows, sheds are broken into and tools stolen," she said. "It has been getting worse over the years and when you are on your own like I am it can really affect you.

"I get worried when I hear noises because I never know whether it is just someone walking past or whether it is someone trying to get into the garden.

"I have padlocks on my shed and garden gate but I can't really afford any other security measures like lights or cameras and I don't see why I should have to do it.

"It angers me that people do this kind of thing and make people feel unsafe. I don't know who stole my ornaments but I hope they think about how they are making people feel when they do these things."

Anyone with information about the stolen ornaments should contact Maidstone and Malling Police on 01622 690055.