A Ludlow town councillor has suggested setting up a cemetery watch scheme after a number of thefts from graves in the town’s Henley Road Cemetery.
Councillor Graeme Kidd said he had been approached by members of the public, including one woman who reported a statue worth £40 had been stolen from her daughter’s grave.
Thieves also took a set of wind chimes the woman’s grandson had put on the grave to mark his mother’s birthday.
Councillor Kidd said: “This lady is distressed, she doesn’t want things nicked and put in car boot sales. She’s broken-hearted not because of the money, but because of the intrusion.”
Other items stolen include another statue and display of flowers.
Cllr Kidd added: “I talked to a stone mason and he advises all his clients getting stone vases to get them engraved otherwise they can be nicked and sold on.”
Kevin Griffin, a local monumental mason, told the Journal: “My advice to anybody is to always have at least the initials engraved because that way it’s personalised. In this day and age, they are the last things to walk, but one or two have gone missing.”
Mr Griffin said the vases could cost anything between £60 and £100 depending on what size they were. Cllr Kidd said: “I understand that cemetery watch as a variation of neighbourhood watch does operate in other towns so it may be possible to set up something similar, working with the police and other agencies and see what can be done.”
Asked about the possibility of setting up a cemetery watch, Ludlow PC Tony Sewell said: “We are all in favour of people helping out in the community, as we are a small community.
“The town council has brought this problem to our attention and we will increase our patrols in the area, but the more the merrier.”
There will be an opportunity to discuss ways to combat the cemetery thefts at the next services committee meeting on July 14 at 7pm in the Bishop Mascall Centre.
