Anger at cemetery headstone vandals

Dozens of headstones have been smashed by vandals at a Black Country cemetery.

Around 40 memorials were kicked over at Thimblemill Cemetery in Smethwick. Some of the wrecked headstones are worth more than £10,000.

It is believed whoever was responsible for the attack on Wednesday night used the granite vases found on many memorials to smash the gravestones. Flowers were also strewn around the site.

Widow Pauline Newey found the headstone of her husband Anthony Newey covered in kick marks yesterday.

Parts of it had come off and vases left beside the memorial had also been smashed.

The 72-year-old, of The Oval in Smethwick, said: "It's shocking.

"There are no words I can use to describe how I feel. How could anyone do anything like this?

"It's bad enough having to deal with grief without having to go through this too."

Mr Newey was a great grandfather-of-eight and died of cancer in 2009.

Retired engineer Glenerick Sailsman, aged 77, was also among the mourners affected.

He arrived at the cemetery to find a £150 vase which he bought for the memorial of his brother Merton Sailsman, and sister-in-law Esmine, had also been taken.

"It is beyond words," said Mr Sailsman, of Victoria Park Road in Smethwick.

"How can anyone do this? It's absolutely wicked. Jail would not be good enough for whoever did this."

Keith Coldicott, who died of cancer last year, is also buried at the cemetery, which is in Thimblemill Road.

Fighting back the tears, his wife of 42 years, Margaret Coldicott, of Hales Lane in Smethwick, said: "It's bad enough having to deal with this grief without having to go through this."

The headstone of Margaret Allen, who died in 2006, was also chipped as though someone had thrown something at it.

Her friend David Foley, of Trinder Road in Smethwick, worked with her at the Ionic Plating company in Smethwick about 10 years ago.

The 59-year-old said: "It's absolutely sickening to see this.

"Words can't describe how I am feeling. These yobs have nothing better to do. It's vandalism at it's lowest.

"They might catch whoever did it but nothing will happen. The worst they'll get is community service."

Sandwell Council staff were on the scene yesterday morning to speak to police officers and take details of the damaged headstones before contacting families to break the news.

Bereavement services manager Brendan Day said he was sickened by the attack on the cemetery.

"The damage is appalling, it is disgraceful," he said. "It's the worst damage of this kind that I've seen in 30 years.

"All of the staff are very upset. We will have extra staff on duty over the next few days so they can talk to people visiting the cemetery about what has happened."

Mr Day said that a clean-up operation has begun and extra staff will be patrolling the area.

He added: "This sort of incident is very rare and security is good at the cemetery.

"All of the staff are very upset. I've had people taking down details of the damaged memorials and then we will have to get in contact with the families to tell them what has happened.

"We will also have extra staff on duty over the next few days so they can talk to people visiting the cemetery about what has happened."

Councillor Mahboob Hussain officially opened the cemetery in October 2009.

"I've never heard of anything like it in all my years at the council," he said. "To vandalise a cemetery is just disgraceful.

"I don't know how anyone in their right mind could even think of doing something like this. Obviously our thoughts are with the families whose memorials have been damaged and our hearts go out to them."

The £1 million cemetery opened in October 2009 and was the first new council burial ground opened in Sandwell for over a century.

Thimblemill Cemetery replaced St Paul's Road cemetery in Oldbury and Uplands in Smethwick, both of which had become full.

Anyone with details should call Neighbourhood Sergeant Giles Dean of West Midlands Police on 0345 113 5000, extension 76016132.