A north-east family has been left distraught after thieves targeted their mother’s grave and prised-off a memorial plaque.
Relatives of Helen Ledingham said they were “disgusted” by the incident and a local councillor branded the culprits “the lowest of the low”.
Mrs Ledingham died a decade ago aged 62 after contracting pneumonia.
Memorial plaques to her and her husband Alexander, who died in 2002, had been placed next to each other at their grave in Fraserburgh’s Kirkton Cemetery.
But the family discovered the brass memorial to their mother had been stolen when they went to pay their respects.
Last night. Mrs Ledingham’s daughter Carol Quirie described the crime as “despicable”.
She said: “My sister-in-law was out to the cemetery to put flowers out and she noticed it was gone.
“The council sent out gardeners to have a look but they couldn’t find it.
“I don’t know how a person could do this.
“It’s been there for 10 years. The people who put it on say it was glued and screwed down so the person who took it off would have been there a while.”
Mrs Quirie said her mother “kept herself to herself” and she did not believe the memorial was targeted as part of any personal vendetta.
She added: “We are totally shocked, we’re in the middle of getting a new one done. The cost is neither here nor there, but they’re not cheap.”
The factory operative, who now lives in New Pitsligo, added: “It’s coming to something if you’ve got to have security cameras in a cemetery.”
Mrs Quirie’s sister, Christina Ledingham. added: “My brothers and my sister are quite disgusted to say the least.”
The family’s comments were echoed by local councillor Ian Tait, who said he was sickened to hear about the incident.
The Independent councillor said: “This is a despicable thing to have done, to desecrate a grave this way and upset the family.
“It’s despicable – there is no other word. To steal from graves is potentially the lowest thing you can do.”
He added: “The cemetery is so isolated, how do you check on it? I’ve heard of wreaths being stolen but a plaque is the lowest of the low.”
The theft was reported to the police.
Kirkton Cemetery, on the eastern edge of the town, is an extension of the former Philorth Church burial ground.
