Thieves who raided the Botanical Gardens have deprived the public of numerous exhibits and spoiled years of scientific research into Bermudian plantlife.

Worst hit has been the Garden for the Blind, which has been raided several times. Over the weekend flowers were taken from this and other areas.

Close to the Botanical Gardens entrance on Point Finger Road, the thieves carefully removed more than 30 begonias, a rosemary and other assorted plants.

Recently, thieves have also taken plants from the cactus house and removed fruit from the sub-tropical fruit garden.

Acting Curator of the Gardens, Dr. Roberta Dow said: "This was not vandalism.

This was somebody who carefully dug up these plants to put them elsewhere.

"People have been working hard, trying to get the gardens the best they can, but some members of the public just take it for granted that they can help themselves. They steal the plants instead of going to a nursery and buying them.'' Botanical Gardens foreman Mr. Norwood Salaam said: "The public complains about the gardens not being up to scratch. It is frustrating because we are working hard and then people come and pull the plants up.

"If they want to know how to grow these plants they can approach us in the office and we will tell them. We can give some cuttings in certain cases.'' Trainee gardener Miss Valarie King, who has worked at the Gardens for three years, was shocked to see her work destroyed over the weekend.

Miss King planted the begonias and other flowers near to the Point Finger Lane site around September. She arrived at work to find much of it gone.

"It was frustrating,'' she said. "Everything I do goes towards my grading in training and that has been stolen. It makes it a lot harder for the workers.'' But Dr. Dow stressed that it was not the workers who would suffer most from the thefts but visitors to the Botanical Gardens and some of the scientific studies.

"The Botanical Gardens are not just there for people to look at; they serve many other purposes, especially education. When we take parties of children around and tell them about the fruit on the trees it is disappointing if all the fruit has been eaten.

"In the Garden for the Blind a lot of plants have been removed because they smell nice. That is the idea of the garden, to benefit people who cannot see them.'' Tests to determine whether trees or plants will grow in Bermuda are ruined if they are stolen or damaged.

Miss Sarah Vallis, due to become curator of the Botanical Gardens early next year, said: "Trees and fruit can often take years to reach this stage, so these thefts can mean that work has been wasted.

"I cannot believe that nobody saw the people who stole the plants this weekend because so much was taken and I am sure it would not have happened in the dark.'' Dr. Dow added: "We must emphasise that the Botanical Gardens are not here for a few people but for everybody. Thefts deprive everyone.'' FRUSTRATED -- Gardener Miss Valarie King and foreman Mr. Norwood Salaam look over one of the plots devastated by thieves at the Botanical Gardens.