Police are carrying out inquiries after two memorial benches in a Sutherland village were vandalised, leaving family members devastated.
One of the structures in Embo was dedicated to the late Donnie Mackay, known to friends and family as Donnie Kye, after he died aged 74 from a rare type of cancer in 2010. It is the third time the bench has been destroyed by vandals.
Police said the damage to the benches at Back Park most likely happened between 7.30pm and 10.30pm on Saturday, July 31.
Mr Mackay was born and bred in the village and spent a year working as a porter on the old railway line in the area, before joining the RAF as a dog handler and then spending 20 years in the prison service.
Yesterday his daughter, Marie Mackay, who lives in Bettyhill, said she was alerted to the vandalism after receiving a phone call from her cousin in Embo.
The 52-year-old added: “My father was a really nice man and was friends with everyone in the community and we are devastated for this to be happening yet again, for the third time.
“The bench was first vandalised in 2012 and then again in 2014, and the second time we found bullet holes in the wood and the metal plaque, which had to be replaced.
“I would like to thank people in the village for their generosity as I know there is a money box in the community shop to help pay for a replacement. It will probably cost about £70.”
Ms Mackay said that each of the three times the bench has been vandalised, it has happened at the same time of year.
The wooden bench was the idea of Mr Mackay’s wife, Patricia, who felt it would be a nice idea given the number of memorial benches standing along the links at Dornoch.
Ms Mackay added: “The bench was something my mother wanted to do. The place it is positioned is where they used to go out walking together, like a lot of local people. From there you can see Ben Bhraggie and Golspie and the whole coastline”.
Anyone with information should contact police in Golspie on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
