Let our loved ones rest in peace, say grieving family
A GRIEVING family are pleading with vandals to leave the graves of their loved ones alone.
Diane Ellis, of Birkenshaw, said thieves had repeatedly stolen trinkets which had been placed on the grave of her sister, Sharon Asquith.
They had also vandalised a solar light from the graves of her grandparents George and Lilian Stephenson.
Diane and her mother, Barbara, say they are devastated by the thefts and cannot understand why anyone would want to desecrate a grave.
Sharon died two and a half years ago at the age of 37. She suffered from Crohn's disease and contracted septicaemia.
Her ashes were interred in St Paul's churchyard in Birkenshaw, and because she was mad about Tigger, from Winnie the Pooh, the family put some Tigger ornaments on the grave.
Barbara said: "We put numerous ornaments there, even some that she'd had at her own home, but thieves came along and kept pinching them.
"I ended up putting a notice there telling the thieves that they were the lowest form of humankind.
"Thankfully it hasn't happened again recently, but a couple of weeks ago Diane was walking the dog and went to the churchyard and saw that a solar light, which we'd put on my parents' grave, had been damaged.
"It looked like someone had pulled it out and thrown it to their dog to play catch with because it had teeth marks in it - and then they put it back all broken. Why take it in the first place, but then why bother to put it back broken?
"It's such a shame because there's a lot of improvement work being done in the churchyard to make it all tidy and improve the footpaths, but then it's being spoilt by these mindless vandals.
"Going to the churchyard gives us comfort, but to see it vandalised, or things stolen, is so upsetting - particularly when they've stolen things which belonged to Sharon, because they can never be replaced.
"I'd just like to ask them why they do it, what possible pleasure can they get?
"Sadly there's just no respect."
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Weather for Cleckheaton
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
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