Vandals damage children’s area at Kettering cemetery

Two animal statues placed in an area of a Kettering cemetery where parents scatter their children's ashes have been vandalised.

The incident at the Rothwell Road cemetery has been reported to police after a complaint was made to Kettering Council.

Officers at the cemetery received a complaint that youths, who were believed to be visiting a grave in the cemetery on January 23, then went on to cause the damage. One of the statues was forcibly broken from its secure fixing in the ground.

The council installed animal statues in the children’s ashes scattering area to make it more pleasant for bereaved families visiting the site.

Shirley Plenderleith, head of public services at Kettering Council, said: “It is difficult to understand what people are thinking when they cause this kind of damage.

"Not only was this in a cemetery but it was in an area specifically set aside in the cemetery extension at the back of the site where parents can scatter the ashes and grieve the loss of a child.

"If you have any information about the incident, please contact the council or the police.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or the council's bereavement services team on 01536 525722.