'Vandals have destroyed our family grave'

A grave dedicated to three generations of a family has been "destroyed" by vandals, a man says.

Paul Ralph, 61, said the remains of his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were interred at Hedon Road Cemetery, in Hull.

But he said the headstone – which was crafted by his late father, a stonemason – had been "booted" over and ornaments smashed.

Hull City Council said "damaged graves or memorials" were made safe and the "fully enclosed" cemetery had its gates locked at night.

Mr Ralph said: "I came last Sunday to pay my respects to them and then I saw this had happened. My two sisters are too distraught to come and see it."

Mr Ralph lost his mum and dad eight years ago. He described them as "just lovely people".

"My dad was a stonemason all of his life. He made this headstone for his parents – he would be mortified to see what's happened."

The family had decorated the grave to make it as homely as possible. But the ornaments had been "damaged, pinched and scattered around the cemetery".

In a message to the vandals he said: "What do they get out of it? It's so upsetting and wrong. It's bad enough losing your parents and then you come to pay your respects and then this happens.

"Why people would do this, I just don't know."

Mr Ralph said the family would not let the incident "get the better of us".

He has called on the council to examine security measures to prevent further incidents.

"It just seems to be neglected year after year, it feels as if all they do is cut the grass and that's it. They need to be aware of what's going on," he added.

The council said the cemetery was "maintained periodically by our grounds maintenance team".

However, there was no permanent on-site security presence "due to the prohibitive cost".

"Because of the cemetery's size, extensive tree coverage, and the need to respect visitors' privacy, there are currently no plans to install CCTV," a spokesperson said.

"We strongly encourage anyone who witnesses or discovers damage to report it directly to the police, so that the appropriate action can be taken."

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