THE people of Cirencester were devastated to discover that a valued volunteer in Cirencester had fallen victim to heartless thieves.

It was appalling that Tony Curry’s £1,200 trailer was stolen in the first place, volunteer or not.

It seems atrocious that he could not safely leave his trailer in broad daylight, in a reasonably law-abiding place such as Cirencester, while he was feet away mowing the grass.

In a quiet and rural area such as ours, we should not have to be constantly looking over our shoulder worrying that we could become a victim of a crime.

But the fact so many people came forward so quickly to raise funds for a new trailer is an indication of the generosity of our townspeople.

It demonstrates just how much people in the area appreciate having the approaches to the town looking tidy – when for years the roundabouts and verges have looked an absolute shambles.

Cirencester Town Council often work hard to keep our town looking neat, but feel constrained by the huge amount of cash needed to close the roads in order to carry out the work. And it seems that Gloucestershire County Council, an authority that makes sure Gloucester and Cheltenham look nice, is neglecting our small and beautiful town.

Mr Curry was speechless when he heard how much had been raised for him during just one weekend, and he vows to keep mowing – made even stronger by the support of the community behind him.