Thieves have raided a New South Wales regional botanical garden, stealing thousands of dollars worth of cactus plants.
They were stolen overnight after a fence was cut to move the plants from a succulent garden at the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens.
Garden volunteer Graham Sly said that around 10 plants were taken, worth around $5,000.
He said that one of the biggest was from Mexico, with a trunk around half a metre in diameter.
"It would have at least been 15 to 20 years old and so it was quite big and substantial and it flowered once a year," Mr Sly said.
"I was furious this morning that anyone could come in and touch a plant — how dare they."
The gardens at Heatherbrae rely heavily on donations, grants and sponsorships.
Beanie and cut fence examined after cactus raid
One of the directors of the botanical gardens board, Mick Cook, said he believed it was a targeted attack.
"We've had a group of volunteers who work in our succulent garden, they discovered 8 or 10 succulent plants were stolen," Mr Cook said.
"We believe they're worth between $400 and $500 each.
"They actually cut a fence next to a gate and they seemed to have come down by foot.
"They knew what they were after and actually dug them out and put them in a couple of wheel barrows and wheeled them back to a car in the bush."
Police said they were investigating the theft and expect to examine a beanie left behind at the scene.
The botanic gardens board has warned people against buying large cactus plants at a greatly reduced cost.
They had urged cactus fanciers to also be wary of buying plants that fit the description online.
