This is taken from a piece in yesterday's i paper. It states, "Residents in North Wales have been told to keep on the lookout for an especially cunning new criminal network- gangs of garden gnomes. Police have warned that burglars are leaving the ornaments in people's gardens to determine whether their houses are empty before targeting them. The gnomes were first spotted on 1 September when two men said to be carrying Royal Mail style bags were seen placing items, including garden gnomes, into residents' gardens in Broughton, Flintshire. The sightings were flagged on a local Facebook group. A post on North Wales Police's South Facebook page said it was aware of "individuals in the Broughton area leaving Christmas gnomes in residential front gardens. This type of behaviour is sometimes used as a "calling card" to see if the gnome is collected by the resident".
