Two Flora Hill residents are disappointed after their altruistic efforts were thwarted by a laundry trough thief.
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Faced with a glut of 2,000 or so lemons from an elderly relative’s tree, Gary and Kerry Muston placed a laundry tub brimming with the fruit outside their home, free for all.
In 24 hours they think they gave away over 600. Then the tub was taken.
Mrs Muston saw the whole thing happen from her bedroom window, while Mr Muston was at the supermarket.
First, a man in a white ute pulled up outside the house. For a while he pottered round behind the ute.
“The bloke walked up to the lemons. He sort of grabbed the trough and I thought ‘oh, he’s going to take the lot’,” she said.
Mrs Muston resigned herself to this – they were offering the lemons free.
“Then it was like he realised there were lemons in it [and] Whooom, [tipped them] out,” she said.
It wasn’t the trough, the trough doesn’t mean anything, I can’t believe people would do something like that.
- Kerry Muston
She thought about confronting the man, but decided against it for safety’s sake.
Mr and Mrs Muston have been left saddened by the gesture, rather than the loss of the tub specifically.
“It wasn’t the trough, the trough doesn’t mean anything, I can’t believe people would do something like that,” Mrs Muston said.
“It was only an old stainless steel trough, which I sort of had a use for, and I was keeping, but it was no particular issue,” Mr Muston said.
“I would have happily given it away.”
Given the low value of the item stolen, they have not reported it to the police.
They have now taken to social media to publicise their loss, with a Facebook post clocking up over 200 shares.
Despite the unfortunate tub-theft, Mr and Mrs Muston are not going to let it stop them giving away lemons, they just have to find another tub.
They have received an overwhelmingly positive response to their free lemons, including notes of thanks delivered to their letterbox.
They think they have at least another 600 to give away, just as soon as they find a new tub.