Between midnight and 3am on Sunday June 18, the brand new beehive planter outside Rymans at Cibi Walk was deliberately targeted by vandals, in an act described as “completely mindless”. 

The beehive planter was found mostly empty, with the soil and flowers carelessly thrown onto the ground surrounding the planter.

Although there have been reports of stolen plants across the Abergavenny area over the last few weeks, it appears as though nothing was taken.

Despite the unfortunate circumstance, thanks to the power of social media, the Town Council were able to rally the troops early on Sunday to try and put back the planter and replace the soil and plants which had been scattered by this act.

Abergavenny Town Mayor Cllr Anne Wilde and her husband Cllr Gareth Wilde were joined by Cllr Gethin Jones, Cllr Mary Ann Brocklesby, Cllr Chris Holland, and Cllr James George, who, alongside members of the public, were able to restore the beehive planter leaving only minimal evidence of the damage and disruption caused.

Abergavenny Town Council have recently taken delivery of brand new platers that are now in place across the whole town, including trough planters beneath signs to welcome people as they arrive, the traditional square planters in new locations, and these beautiful beehive planters, which when in full bloom will give the silhouette of a traditional beehive.

This has transpired in the lead up to Abergavenny in Bloom entering Wales in Bloom on Wednesday July 5, and then representing Wales in the Town Category at Britain in Bloom on July 31.

A spokesperson for the Town Council said: “The whole town has embraced Abergavenny In Bloom from Castle Meadows to Linda Vista Gardens over to Bailey Park and beyond. 

"The Town Council have been keen to replace the older planters throughout town and were thrilled with the latest installation and the wonderful comments and feedback received.

"It is disappointing that a small minority feel they can destroy and disrupt the town by causing mindless damage, but it is heartening to see the community come out in force to put right the damage caused, and show that we will not put up with such petty behaviour and vandalism. 

"We are very proud of our town, and want to make it a welcoming, beautiful place in which to live, work, and visit. Stealing plants and causing damage like this will not be tolerated.  We are so very lucky to have a whole army of volunteers across all the Friends Groups, Keep Abergavenny Tidy, and other organisations, whose volunteers give a huge amount of hours to ensure Abergavenny looks at its absolute best for all who come here.

"All the older planters which have been replaced by this new intake, were re-homed at locations around the town including Our Lady and St Michaels Primary School and the Laurie Jones Community Orchard, for new Community Growing Projects which we hope to see take shape over the next year.”

There have been multiple incidents involving antisocial behaviour within the area over recent months; prompting Abergavenny Town Council to hold talks with the local police patrol on how they are going to tackle the problem with the limited resources they have.