How could they?

The reward is being offered jointly by Worthing Council and the police for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. A total of 105 graves had their headstones toppled during Friday night and Saturday morning. The outrage occurred in a secluded part of the cemetery and mainly affected a section in which most interments were made between 1974 and 1979. But one of the damaged graves was only a year old.

A Herald reporter who visited the cemetery on Monday met a widower whose wife's grave was next to a carefully-tended one which had been vandalised. "What a terrible thing to have happened," said the man. "It is so destructive, so pointless. Goodness knows what mental attitude they have to do these things."

The stricken memorials comprised tributes to beloved mums, dads, wives, grandparents '“ all kicked or pushed over onto the damp grass. One of the heart-wrenching scenes was of a flattened headstone at the grave of an elderly couple, Henry and Connie, and a similar scene was repeated time and again.

Worthing's district police commander, Chief Inspector Jason Taylor, said: "This is a mindless act of vandalism that can have a devastating effect on families and we look to the community to try to help us catch those responsible."

George Stephens, the council's cabinet member for the environment, said: "I visited the cemetery as soon as I became aware of this incident and was appalled at the scene on my arrival."

Local memorial masons have already offered to help repair the damage. Ian Rudkin, the council's cemeteries and crematorium registrar, said: "I have been in this job for 15 years and I have never seen anything as bad as this. The police are sending scenes-of-crime officers to gather evidence and take fingerprints where possible. This just makes me feel physically ill. You just can't describe the people who did this." He said it would take some time to trace and contact the families involved. Most of the toppled headstones had been quite securely cemented down and it would have taken some force to push them over.

Mr Rudkin said the council would be stepping up security at the cemetery, especially at night. But it was still easy to gain entrance from either Findon Road or the Parham Road end. The council did not want to make access difficult for people visiting the cemetery, especially those who could do so only in the evenings.Worthing funeral director Ian Hart told the Herald: "The actions of these people leave normal human beings speechless. They are the lowest of the low." Mr Hart said that he and his stonemason, Graham Baker, were only too willing to offer help and advice to anyone who needed it, and they could contact him at his office.

Information about the vandalism can be passed on to police on 0845 6070999 or, anonymously, if preferred, by telephoning Mr Rudkin on 02903 872678, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.