COORANBONG Park's garden maintenance champions Max Shanks, Bill Vandenberg and Ray Short are back to having the grass grow under their feet following the theft of their year-old community purchased mower last weekend.
"We thought the maintenance shed was like Fort Knox but thieves used bolt cutters to gain entry sometime between Thursday and Saturday," Mr Shanks said.
"It was a beautiful mower, top of the range John Deer Model X320 with a 48-inch cut."
The trio, all in their 70s, featured on the front page of the Lakes Mail in January last year as having cut their last blade of grass because their 15-year-old mower was worn out and council's policy doesn't allow the supply of equipment to volunteers.
The story roused locals into action resulting in a brand new professional quality mower being bought for their use after two Cooranbong community groups, Cooranbong Community Services Centre and Cooranbong Senior Citizens Association together donated $6000.
"The thieves also stole our Makita weed trimmer but they left the worn-out old mower. They seemed to know exactly what they were after," he said.
"The equipment is all under the responsibility of council, so hopefully it will be insured."
The serial number on the stolen machine is MOX320A95364.
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