There is no excuse for this, what on earth could these delinquents get from destroying a grave in a churchyard? Total and utter scum.
A number of headstones at a cemetery in Caernarfon have been smashed to pieces by vandals. The incident took place at the top of the Eglwys Llanbeblig where some of the older gravestones are located.
The cemetery itself extends for over five acres, according to the church's reverend, with around half of the grounds currently overgrown. Thanks to the work of a small group of volunteers much of the overgrowth has been cleared in recent years which has seen a reduction in anti-social activity on the church grounds.
But in an incident that is believed to have taken place over last weekend, around half a dozen Victorian headstones at the top of the cemetery were smashed with shards of slate strewn across the surrounding area. Reverend Dylan Williams described the incident as "heartbreaking".
The volunteers have since pleaded with people to respect the gravestones and the work taking place on the church grounds. In a statement, they said: "Unfortunately the volunteers have noticed that gravestones have been destroyed by someone who visits the cemetery late at night. The volunteers plead with the children/adults who come to the cemetery at night to respect the gravestones and the work they have been doing to improve the area."
The Reverend Dylan Williams added: "The history and the identity of the town is etched on these graves and that's why incidents like this are so heartbreaking. We have a small group of volunteers who have worked tirelessly in recent years to restore the cemetery and clear the overgrowth.
"This is a setback but it won't stop the work that's being done to make the cemetery more accessible to the public. That said, the maintenance of the grounds requires a lot of work and vandalized headstones are the last thing we need in the face of what is already an uphill battle.
"Thankfully, the incidents of anti-social behavior have gone down in recent years. That's in large part down to the excellent work of our volunteers but sadly, as we've seen, we still get the odd incident from time to time."
Since 2020, major work has been carried out on the cemetery to rid it of overgrown shrubbery and to make it accessible to the public. Though a significant portion of the site remains inaccessible, much progress has been made over the last two years. Part of the cemetery is dedicated to soldiers who died in the First World War and that section is now visible thanks to the work that has gone into the clearing and restoring the grounds.
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