The outpouring of support came hours after the Newcastle Herald broke the news that Mr Moyle’s Broadmeadow patch, which has enchanted hundreds of children since 1970, was raided by vandals on Sunday night.

By Tuesday morning almost 800 people had formed a group to help Mr Moyle, who is 93, rebuild the site to its former glory. 

Among their suggestions are CCTV cameras, which could help deter and potentially identify vandals who damage Mr Moyle’s sanctuary. 

Warners Bay’s Jamii-lee Rippard, 26, said she started a Facebook page to help organise some help for Mr Moyle as people made offers. 

By Tuesday morning the group, Let’s help build the fairy garden, had more than 700 people behind the cause.

The group offered an avenue to organise individual offers of time, resources and effort as well as a link to a donation system. 

Ms Rippard said she had spoken to Mr Moyle’s relatives and organised to meet the garden’s creator for details about what was required on Wednesday.

She said she simply wanted to give those touched by Mr Moyle’s selflessness a way to bring things back up to his high standard. 

“My phone has not stopped ringing,” Ms Rippard said.

“It’s lovely to see though, if it’s going to help.”

Ms Rippard said her inspiration to take action came from her grandfather, who she lost three years ago, rather than an affinity for the Broadmeadow fairy garden itself.

“He was a gardener,” she said. “I’ve never been to [Mr Moyle’s garden] but I’ve heard about it, and I will go now.”

Ms Rippard suggested CCTV cameras could be a good use of the money people were donating given Mr Moyle’s commitment to doing as much as he could at the site himself.

“It would mean that if they do it again, they would be caught,” she said. 

Mr Moyle was unable to speak to the Newcastle Herald on Tuesday morning. 

On Monday Mr Moyle explained that he took pride in having created and maintained the garden himself, but his age had begun to limit how often he could work in the garden.

The Herald, Newcastle