A DAUGHTER has been left shocked and upset by the vandalism and theft of plants from her father grave at Werrington’s Church at Ladycross.

Helen Jones, daughter of the late Mr William Heard, who has been laid to rest in the churches graveyard, has said she is ‘horrified and disgusted’ that someone would desecrate the grave plot of her father — which is also the grave of her mother, Mrs Pamela Heard.

Helen’s father passed away on March 17, and the funeral was held at the beginning of April.

Helen said that her grandparents are also buried in the graveyard and that in the 50 years that she has been attending the church where family members have been laid to rest, she has not seen an incident like this.

Helen told the Post she had gone over to the graveyard on Tuesday, May 24, with her watering can thinking ‘I’m going to water the plants’, but little did she know that there were no longer any plants there for her to water.

Upon inspection Helen found that the bedding plants she had previously planted had been ripped up and a pot, which had contained geraniums, chosen because they were a favourite of her fathers and they are a flower that would last, had been taken.

The headstone, which will sit at the head of the grave, has not been engraved and Helen had planted the flowers as a way of giving a more personal touch to her parent’s grave ahead of the installation of the gravestone.

Helen said: “I went over to Werrington church on Wednesday to visit my parents’ grave only to be horrified and disgusted to find someone had stolen the ceramic pot with geraniums in and bedding plants I had planted on top of the grave.

“My dad was only buried there six weeks ago and the headstone has gone to be engraved so to make it seem better, I had put these plants there as we live a bit away, so there would always be something there for them.

“What sort of person could do this? We were brought up to be respectful and think of the church as a sacred place but this person seems to have no morals or respect to steal from a grave.

“Not only have they stolen from my dad, it is also my mums grave. This is all I can do for them now is to put flowers.

“So I appeal to this person to return the pot and flowers and ask the public to contact the police if they have seen anything suspicious at the church between the 15th and the 24th of May. Launceston police have been notified, so if anyone has any information please call them.

“All I want is for my parents to rest in peace and for us to be able to put flowers there for them.”

If a member of the public has any information regarding the incident they are asked to contact the police on the non-emergency 101-line quoting reference number CR/033806/16.