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Thousands of daffodils planted by volunteers to cheer up a town's "grot spot" have been stolen.

August’s little elfin grot was a space about the size of a one-car garage.

The grots and rocky walls were already starred with saxifrages and stonecrops.

"It showed the North East in all its diversity, in all its character, in all of its beauty, in all of its grot, in all of its grime," Si King says.

Once I got past that hurdle, I took my first pictures, but they no longer seemed relevant: they were stereotypical shots, full of dirt and grot.