Florist 'disheartened' as £300 bespoke Valentine's Day bouquet stolen
A £300 bouquet of roses, each containing a diamanté jewel, was stolen from a florist near Stroud the day before Valentine’s Day.
The theft took place at 5.30pm on Saturday 13 February from The Flower Shop in Stonehouse and has since been reported to the police.
Rachel Smith, the owner of the shop, said a man ordered the bouquet of 50 roses before collecting it and running off without paying.
She said: "The man who ordered the flowers called on February 13 in the morning and said he would come to collect them between 5pm and 6pm the next day.
"He asked for 50 stems of the best red roses. With how Brexit and Covid has been they are the highest price to buy in that they have ever been.
"We made the bouquet and was a pay on collection agreement. He arranged to collect them between 5pm and 6pm and I feel he had planned this before."
The Flower Shop is not open due to coronavirus restrictions but customers are allowed to pre-order and collect from outside the shop.
Rachel said the man arrived at the shop wearing a hat and face mask, and she believes the theft was premeditated.
She said: "We have a table outside for click and collect customers. The flowers were taken outside due to the price they cost so the customer could take a look.
"He asked for a gift card and they are complementary so my colleague came in and asked for me to go outside and wait while she got one. By the time I got out the shop he was gone.
"He had left a phone number, so I called it, and he said he had just gone to the bank to get the money, so I said you have taken the bouquet without paying, so you need to come back now, and he just hung up on me.
While Rachel is disappointed by this incident, she thanked members of the community for their support and care with some even offering to pay towards to cost of the flowers.
She said: "The shop has been open and closed all year due to the pandemic. We have had to work long and late hours to cater for Valentine’s Day.
"Stonehouse is a really lovely community and we are close knit. Customers and locals are annoyed this has happened.
"We should be trying to support local and shop local. This has left me feeling quite disheartened."
The police are urging members of the public who know anything about this theft to call 101 and state incident number 317 of February 13 2021.
Read more:
Appeal to find owners of potentially stolen dogs found in Gloucestershire
Concern from Lacock residents as National Trust's half term tickets sell out