More than a dozen of her prized tulips and daffodils were taken from the front garden which sits directly underneath 87-year-old Joy McGowan's bedroom window.

And the incident has left Mrs McGowan "absolutely devastated".

"My garden is all I have left," she said.

"I woke up on Tuesday, opened my bedroom window and couldn't believe that my beautiful tulips were gone.

"It makes you feel very sad but also very frightened that someone has come onto my private property during the night and stolen something so important to me."

Mrs McGowan lives in central Albury, in a set of independent living units for elderly people connected to an adjacent church.

And the incident has left the whole neighbourhood on edge.

"My neighbours are all in their late 80s and early 90s and they are now scared that people will just come in at night," Mrs McGowan said.

"We are too old to be worrying about people coming onto our property.

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"We don't have much of our life left and we spend a lot of our time in our garden so for someone to come in during the night to take my flowers is just very upsetting.

"I would say to the people who did this that I don't mind you coming and admiring my garden but I don't like people coming in and stealing my property."

Mrs McGowan plants her tulips every year on Mother's Day and said it brings her and her neighbours "a lot of joy" watching them grow over many months.

"That has now taken away from us," she said.

"I will have to wait until next year to plant them again now."

Although Mrs McGowan said she is "angry and disgusted" she still hopes the thief enjoys the flowers.

"I do hope they find joy in my flowers as much as I have," she said.

"I just can't find the sense in stealing an old woman's flowers which she lives for."

Mrs McGowan said the incident wasn't reported to the police as "they wouldn't take any notice".

"But they aren't 'just flowers' to me," she said.

"Every time I go outside now I just feel sad."