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A Chinese gardener has taken to extreme measures to prevent thieves from stealing his treasured flowers – resorting to the Dark Arts themselves.

Cheng Li, a keen amateur gardener who lives in the northern Chinese city of Urumchi, was enraged by the theft of his prized pomegranate flowers, and did not trust the authorities to apprehend the horticultural miscreants, so he hit upon a novel method of revenge.

The 53-year-old Cheng has placed a sign outside his apartment placing a curse upon the thieves, warning that somebody close to them will die every time that the pomegranate flowers burst into bloom.

“Whoever takes away my flowers is damned to witness a death in their family every time the flowers’ blossom,” warns the sign.

Cheng went even further when questioned by the local newspaper, adding: “Police will never catch them so my only hope is that the fates will punish them some day – with the help of my curse.”

However, the gardener’s neighbours are not pleased with the tactic, warning that Cheng is meddling with forces he does not understand.

“He may be upset but it is distressing us to have such a curse in front of our homes. He has gone too far,” one of them told the paper.

A recent poll by insurer NFU Mutual found that a third of gardeners in the UK have suffered some form of garden theft – usually of valuable gardening equipment or statues, garden furniture and barbecues.

NFU Mutual spokesperson Laura Wood said that the gardens are an increasing temptation to thieves due to the greater value of their contents. However, she recommends security measures such as stout shed locks and lights, rather than curses.