Police in Napier, New Zealand were amused when a middle-aged woman called up crying to report a theft of cannabis plants she had been growing in buckets at her home.

The 45-year-old woman's main grudge was that the plant theft was the fourth from her property in North Island in the past four years. She was emotional and in tears when police reached her home.

The accident happened last week when someone broke into her property at night to steal her three marijuana plants, which she claimed to have "nurtured carefully."

Senior officers found it hard not to smile as the women gave details of the theft over the phone. AP quotes the woman, whose name has been withheld, as saying, "I am a good person. I am sick of these low-lifes stealing my things."

The gardener woman has now been warned that her cannabis plantation could have legal consequences. However, police had decided no action would be taken against the unaware gardener.