A GRANDFATHER who voluntarily mows the grass on Cirencester’s roundabouts has been left crestfallen after his £1,200 trailer was stolen almost from under his nose.

Tony Curry, 70, has been cutting the town’s roundabouts for three years and receives no money or expenses towards his work, despite going out once a week in the summer.

On Easter Saturday, Mr Curry was cutting the grass on one side of the roundabout next to Cirencester fire station and had left the trailer he used to transport the lawnmower on the other side, out of sight.

A thief pulled up in front of the trailer, attached it to the back of their vehicle, and drove away.

The grandfather-of-five, who lives in Chesterton, said: “I reckon someone saw I was round the other side of the roundabout, drove up, hooked it up to their car and then drove away.

“I just couldn’t believe it. I could see the skid marks on the grass. I just stood there and thought, is this really happening?”

Reluctant to leave his mower at the busy roundabout unprotected, Mr Curry had to ride it home which took around 15 minutes.

“It’s top speed is six miles per hour, it’s like a mobility scooter,” he said. “I got one or two funny looks.”

The former town and district councillor has lived in Cirencester for nearly 20 years and said he takes pride in keeping the town looking nice.

He has been praised by the community for his work and first took on the voluntary mowing role when he was chairman of Park Ward community group.

“I know it sounds ridiculous but I care about the town and how it looks," he said. "My biggest motivator was just getting the town tidy but the second one was road safety which for me is a big thing. People do very silly things on roundabouts.”

Despite his trailer being stolen, Mr Curry said he was determined to continue to keep Cirencester looking good.

“I’m going to carry on doing it,” said Mr Curry, who lives with his wife Judy. “I was a bit put off at first. On Saturday night I was so so angry.”

The trailer was stolen between 5.30pm and 6pm on Saturday, while he was mowing the Bristol Road roundabout.

It is a £1,200 P8E Ifor Williams general purpose trailer with a loading ramp.

“If the police can catch the person who did it perhaps it can help someone else from becoming a victim too,” Mr Curry said.

Witnesses are urged to call 101 quoting incident 344 of April 4.