No place like gnome: Woman stunned to wake up to find army of garden ornaments
BAFFLED police are trying to find out why more than a hundred gnomes ended up in a dental nurse's garden.
The homeowner said there were 107 gnomes in her garden
Stunned Marcela Telehanicova, 30, woke up to find the Terracotta army in rows leading up to her front door.
Pranksters may have been inspired by an episode of comedy series One Foot In The Grave when Victor Meldrew found 263 garden gnomes in front of his house.
But rather than eliciting Mr Meldrew's irritated catchphrase of "I don't believe it", Ms Telehanicova was delighted.
She said: "I had a second look and thought 'What is that? Then I realised they were little people. I was in hysterics, I found it really funny.
"It's the best, most bizarre thing that has ever happened to me.
"I don't know who did it but I would love to know, I would love to shake their hand and say 'Well done, you made me laugh'."
The miniature models are all made of plastic and moulded into the shape of little workmen.
The nurse, who lives with her young son, wants to keep the gnomes but decided to call the police in case anyone believed she had stolen them.
The gnomes were lined up in rows up the garden path
It's the best, most bizarre thing that has ever happened to me
She said: "I think there were some duplicates, there were seven of one kind.
"I reported them to the police, saying 'Look, if somebody says they've got 100 gnomes missing and they're in my front garden, I'm the one who's going to get questioned'.
"The police took them away, but they said if after 28 days nobody has claimed them I can have them back.
"Somebody said I should sell them for charity. I'll have to think about it."
One Foot In The Grave episode when Victor Meldrew wakes up with hundreds of gnomes in his garden
Bemused police from Ivybridge in Devon, where the incident took place, are looking into whether they were stolen.
They have contacted a nearby garden centre but no gnomes have been reported missing.
Nobody has come forward yet to claim the gnomes, which appeared sometime between 9.30pm on June 1 and 1.30am the next day on Ms Telehanicova's lawn.
A spokesman said: "Someone has taken quite a bit of time and effort to place them there. We are seeking to establish where the gnomes have come from.
"The question is whether they are stolen, as opposed to being gnomeless."
Anyone with information should ring police on 101.
It's not the first time in recent weeks a gnome mystery has hit Britain.
Last month a 12ft gnome began appearing in people's gardens in Alnwich, Northumberland.