Wishing well thieves

STICKY FINGERS: Two people at the Rotary Club of Mount Gambier's wishing well in the Cave Gardens dive in to grab coins.

THIEVES were seen turning themselves upside down this week as they dove into charity money from a wishing well in Mount Gambier’s Cave Gardens.

A spokesperson for the Rotary Club of Mount Gambier, which collects the wishing well money for charity, said it’s not uncommon to catch offenders red-handed helping themselves to the coins at the bottom of the charity well.

A spokesperson for the club said it had been an ongoing issue with club members taking measures to keep thieves out.

Members welded a grate in place in an attempt to deter people from stealing the coins but the welds have been broken by offenders to gain access to the donations.

The spokesperson said some people have been very creative in stealing the coins.

“In the past people have put chewing gum on the end of a stick and used that to pick coins up from the bottom of the well,” the spokesperson said.

“It is only small change but even so it means a lot to us and all the money we collect goes back into the community.”

The club previously put a camera on top of the Mount Gambier City Hall to monitor the area, however it has also been stolen.

Rotary Club members are expected to meet with Mount Gambier City Council about the issue.