Thieves have been condemned for stealing flowers and plants the day after they were planted on a £6,000 pathway created by award-winning volunteers for disabled people to use.

Volunteers in Calverley In Bloom say they have been left “shattered” by the theft of the blooms on a path leading from Carr Road to Calverley Woods, known as Calverley Cutting.

They were the crowning glory in the restoration of a bridleway used by walkers and severely disabled people living at Champion House in Claro Drive.

Calverley In Bloom has spent thousands of pounds putting in a gravel path, cutting back trees and fencing the area. Its chairman Frank Robinson discovered the plants had been stolen as he showed Yorkshire In Bloom judges around the village.

Mr Robinson, 84, said: “They had only been in a day and they have been stolen. The people who put them in are shattered by this.”

Mr Robinson of Sunnybank Lane, Calverley, added: “Whoever has done it has just pulled them out of the ground. It is not vandalism, its just plain theft.”

Anyone with information about the theft should contact Calverley police on 0845 6060606.