Vandals and thieves target children's graves as heartbroken dads demand security

TWO heartbroken fathers are calling for security measures at a cemetery after the graves of their three young children were repeatedly targeted by thieves and vandals.

Brothers Alex and Andrew Kyrillou said BCP Council was “doing absolutely nothing” to protect the resting places of their loved ones in Christchurch.

Alex says the latest attack on his son Oliver’s grave at the town’s cemetery in Jumpers Road was the day after his birthday on 31st July when tributes, left by the family to mark his special day, were broken.

Oliver died aged nine in February 2016 from a brain tumour. Buried with him is his baby brother Enzo, who died in his sleep in December last year aged just 14 weeks.

Alex’s twin brother Andrew said the grave of his daughter Amelia, who died of sepsis aged two – just months after her cousin Oliver – has also been repeatedly targeted.

Alex said of the latest vandalism: “We put a beautiful wind spinner on his grave and I secured it tightly as we have had other stuff taken from his grave before. The wind spinner was for both the boys.

“The next day my wife Amy went to check on it and she found it had been vandalised and the chime broken. One of the blades had been removed so it wasn’t spinning anymore.

“It is just heartbreaking for us. I cried when I heard what had happened, it was a completely deliberate act.”

Alex said that toys Oliver loved, including Minion figures and pieces of Lego which the family placed on the grave, have been stolen and other items broken.

He said: “They were Oliver’s favourite toys and it gave us comfort to place them there. But before long they were stolen.

“His grave was actually trashed shortly after he was buried when some of the floral tributes were beheaded and thrown about.

“It is just disgusting someone cannot leave a grave in peace, especially that of a child. Now that Enzo is also there with Oliver the hurt is even worse.”

The boys are buried near the playpark in Jumpers Road. Amelia’s grave is near the exit to the cemetery.

Her father Andrew said: “We put a massive pink elephant – one of Amelia’s favourite TV cartoon characters – on her grave and it was stolen. Other toys have gone.

“We have a small stone wheelbarrow on the grave which her grandmother, who used to be a florist, plants flowers in there for her. But in the past, they have been dug up and taken.”

Andrew and Alex complained to BCP Council and asked for security measures to be introduced at the cemetery including CCTV cameras.

But the brothers said they were told this was not possible. As a result, Andrew installed a security camera on Amelia’s grave only to have that stolen, as well as its replacement.

He said: “We have reported the thefts to the police, but they said without any witnesses it is hard to take any action.

“The cameras and toys cost around £700. When I posted about the theft of the camera on social media, I was inundated with messages from people saying that graves of their loved ones have also been vandalised at the cemetery.”

Alex said the council should take action, adding: “The problem seems to be getting worse and for us as bereaved families, it is just horrible. It is always on your mind, wondering what someone is doing to the grave.

“The only light to come out of this was that when Otter Nurseries, where we had bought the wind chime from, heard what had happened they presented us with a new one saying they were absolutely disgusted by it.”

A spokesperson for BCP Council admitted to the A&T that thefts and vandalism had occurred at the cemetery but there were no plans to take any further action.

In a statement it said: “Whilst theft from and vandalism to graves does sadly occur on rare occasions throughout our cemeteries, we have not had any significant reports at Christchurch Cemetery to warrant the installation and monitoring of CCTV.

“We do, though, have a regular staff presence on most days, whilst the cemetery is routinely locked on a daily basis when closed to the public.”