Woman’s distress as items taken from mum’s grave

A daughter has described the removal of decorations from her late mother's grave as the "ultimate disrespect".

Samantha Power, whose mother Ann Marie is buried in Cardiff, said solar lights and other items have been "ripped up without a care in the world".

"At the very least they should have some respect for the dead," said 42-year-old Ms Power.

Cardiff council said thefts were "rare" and that families were advised to leave items at their "own risk".

Ann Marie, 66, died in December 2022 and was buried at Cathays Cemetery.

Ms Power, who lives in Cardiff, said: "We decorated her grave for Mother's Day with solar lights and a rose dome."

"Our mum loved her garden, especially roses, so it was all made to be personal to her and someone has just ripped it all up without a care in the world," Ms Power added.

She said she did report the removed items to the police, but noticed decorations on other family members graves were missing too.

"People struggle every day with losing people they love, especially when they've been such a huge part of our lives, tending to graves is the last thing we can do for those no longer with us," she said.

"It's sad to think we have to accept that we live in a society where there is not much respect for the living anymore, but at the very least they should have some for the dead."

A Cardiff council spokesperson said: "Given the understandable distress thefts of this nature cause, families are advised that all the items are left at the owners own risk.

"No items matching the descriptions have been reported directly to the council as missing from Cathays Cemetery."