It seems the greenest fingers can also be the stickiest.

Britain’s garden centres are in the grip of a shoplifting epidemic, led – retailers say – by ‘well-to-do, middle-class women in nice cars’, rather than hardened criminals.

But the problem goes far beyond the odd pilfered pot plant, a new industry report reveals, with wax jackets, scented candles and designer soft toys among the items most frequently stolen.

Some individual thefts have cost retailers up to £6,000. The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) estimates the sector lost £16million to retail crime in the past year, and 71 per cent of members consider theft a significant issue.

Retailers say the open nature of garden centres makes them especially vulnerable, with stock accessible in outdoor areas before customers reach a staffed entrance and multiple entry points that are difficult to police.

Figures from insurance firm NFU Mutual show nine in ten rural retailers were hit by crime in the past year, at an average cost of £83,000 each. 

Many have responded to the crisis with raised displays, gated plant sections and impulse-buy products moved closer to staffed tills.

Meanwhile, others have reduced stocks of high-risk items entirely.

Jennifer Pheasey, director of public affairs at the HTA, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘In recent years theft has absolutely risen, and it’s gone from being predominantly smaller items to being much more prevalent larger items.

‘It is quite endemic and a real challenge, but first and foremost for every retailer, they worry about the safety of their staff.’

She added: ‘Over 90 per cent of our businesses are family-owned, so it is hard for them to have the money to invest in stopping people committing a crime.

'This is a real cost to businesses at a time when they’re under massive pressure.’