A grieving daughter has been left distraught after discovering that her mum’s grave at Eltham Cemetery has been vandalised for the second time this year.
“I have been awake all night, people are so wicked” Denise Thornberry expressed to the News Shopper.
Denise, whose mum has been buried at the cemetery for seven years, visits the grave three times a week with her husband.
The first incident was reported in February, when Denise arrived at the grave with a bunch of flowers, only to find that all her mum’s vases and solar lights had been stolen.
In the months following the theft, Denise and her partner returned to Eltham Cemetery and replaced the stolen lights and other missing items.
However, during a visit to the grave in early August, Denise was shocked to find that the grave had been targeted again, with lights and other items reportedly stolen once more.
The repeated vandalism has left Denise and her family struggling to cope with the ongoing distress.
Denise told the News Shopper: "All the surrounding lights, solar lights, wind chimes and photo of my mum has been taken.
“The same thing and worse has happened - there have been no improvements to the cemetery.
"We had a walk around and it doesn't seem anyone else's has been affected.
"My mum is placed a couple spots away from the path and hers has been targeted twice."
Denise said she had a meeting with the cemetery groundsmen a couple of months ago, who reportedly told her they could “only afford” CCTV on the crematorium, and not the cemetery.
Greenwich Council has confirmed that, in response to the incident, it is considering the installation of CCTV at the cemetery's exit.
A Greenwich Council spokesperson explained: “We are absolutely appalled that this mindless and cruel vandalism has continued.
“Our thoughts go out to Denise and her family.
“As a result, we are looking into installing new CCTV cameras at the exit of the cemetery grounds.”
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