Senseless yobs attack cemetery

In the latest attacks:

- Gravestones have been kicked over and smashed.

- Toys and mementos left by friends and family are moved to other graves or thrown in the bins.

- Flowers and lanterns placed to brighten up the graves are removed and strewn around the cemetery.

Sheila Kirk, whose daughter Mellissa is buried at the cemetery, after dying from a heart embolism just over a year ago, aged 21, says she has had enough of the abuse and is close to taking the law into her own hands.

"These are our loved ones," she said. "I know they can't see what we've done but it's our way of still caring for them. I go over to Mellissa every night to light her candles for her.

"It started about five or six weeks ago on Mellissa's grave, but it's been going on here for years.

"It normally happens around early evening, after the kids have got out of school. I put it down to boredom and a few of the kids who skip school who go and hide in the cemetery. They've got no respect and to me it's desecrating a grave, which is not on.

"Every time I go over there, something will be missing. We've stuck down some of Mellissa's things with clear sealant, so they can't be moved.

"It's not fair. We've had enough, and if I catch anyone doing it then I'm not going to be held responsible for what I do."

Another parent whose child is buried at the cemetery contacted the Gazette anonymously. She said: "Things keep going missing from my son's grave.

"They're our loved ones up there. It's their final resting place but it's being sabotaged.

"How would they feel if it was their brother, sister, mother or father up there and it was happening to their graves?

"There needs to be CCTV or at least more police patrols."

Insp Mark Hammond, head of the Littlehampton neighbourhood policing team, said: "It's absolutely reprehensible what's happened.

"I will certainly be ensuring that police officers pay more attention to patrolling those areas and if anyone is caught vandalising graves they will be dealt with very seriously."

Anyone with information should call 0845 60 70 999.