Tycroes nurse Gemma Brady is puzzling over her Monkey Puzzle this week after her doorbell cam picked up images of a topless intruder struggling to carry the tree off her forecourt.

The man was seen brazenly walking up to the tree in her property at Heol Brown, Tycroes, on Friday afternoon and carrying it away.

“It’s totally bizarre,” Gemma told The Guardian.

“I just happened to check the camera before leaving for my nightshift in Glangwili when I saw this man making off with my tree.

"He must be completely covered in scratches as it’s very spiky.

"And what makes it even more remarkable is the fact that the tree was situated right in front of my living room window, so if I’d been in the living room I’d have seen everything that was going on.”

South Wales Guardian: The tree, now back in its rightful placeThe tree, now back in its rightful place

Gemma decided to share her footage online.

“I thought that it would be seen by just a few people in the Tycroes area, but it snowballed and was seen by 18,000 people in just a few hours," she said.

"I think this made him think twice about what he’d done because he brought the tree back and told me he’d been steaming when he took it, and did it as a dare for his mates.

"He also told me that the following morning he’d woken up to find it in his bedroom.

“To be perfectly honest, I don’t believe him. It’s not as if we’re anywhere near a pub so I genuinely believe he was out to steal my tree.”

Gemma grew the tree from a tiny little sapling which she bought around eight years ago and has taken great pride in the way it’s matured.

“And this is the point,” she said. “I bought it quite cheaply as a sapling, but it’s now worth between £250 and £300.

“I love gardening as it’s a form of relaxation, but now I’m concerned that the tree may have been damaged.

“All I can do now is wait to see if it will recover.”