A couple left baffled by mystery gnomes which keep randomly appearing in their garden said another turned up - in the post from France. Christine and Stephen Lock say the bizarre ornaments started turning up in February 2021, without explanation.
Despite asking neighbours and posting an appeal on Facebook, the pensioners - a mayor and mayoress - say they are still no closer to solving the peculiar puzzle. Six - dancing, fishing and Pride - gnomes arrived in their front garden in South Molton, Devon, over 18 months.
They thought the influx was over - until one turned up in the post, from a stranger without a note, just a return address for Paris, France, in September. The latest addition - the first to have been received in the post - has a red hat and yellow apron and is carrying a flower box.
Christine, 66, said: "We still haven't found out where they've come from, but we have received one from Paris. They seem to be being placed outside overnight, and I haven't got a clue who is doing it, not a clue.
"Everybody I've asked has denied it - family, friends, neighbours - it's very bizarre. It doesn't really make me feel uncomfortable. I don’t mind them if they put them in the garden."
After posting on Facebook in an attempt to find answers about the mystery of the gnomes, Christine said the gnomes continued to turn up sporadically ever since. Christine confessed despite taking up room in her garden, the adorable miniature statues have grown on her.
The couple had only owned a tiny fishing gnome on a water feature in their garden prior to receiving the unwarranted presents. She said: "They are nice and look pretty, but I am worried I'll wake up one morning and the garden will be covered!
"When I received a circle of about six gnomes in the collection - about an inch and a half high - sitting around a fire, I thought it looked odd because they were so small. They looked lonely, so I did bought a little ornamental house for them in the shape of a cabbage to socialise in."
Christine wasted no time in placing her new French addition alongside the other gnomes in her front garden.
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