BEREAVED relatives have been distressed by the theft of decorative edging from graves.

Council chiefs believe a gang could be targeting cemeteries and selling the edging.

Rope effect edging worth £1,000 was taken from nine graves in the cemetery at St Paul's Church, Hoddlesden, between August 13 and 27.

And now the Blackburn with Darwen Council-run cemetery in Darwen has been targeted.

Mrs Mary McDonough of Cavendish Street, Darwen, was upset to find edging had been taken from the graves of her brother George Yates, and grandmother Mary Langford.

She said she and her relatives had taken four hours to put the edging in last November. "It looked really nice and it was very upsetting to discover it had been stolen. I could not believe it at first and then I got really angry. If there is someone going around stealing it I want people to know so they can keep a lookout."

A spokesman for Blackburn with Darwen Council said last year a gang of thieves had been caught stealing edging and paving stones. "They blatantly drove a van into the cemetery and went round the graves stealing stuff," the spokesman said.

"It would appear that perhaps the same group or someone else is doing the same again. We would ask people to be extra vigilant and report anything suspicious."

A spokesman for Darwen CID said they were aware of the incidents and urged: "If anyone sees anything suspicious they should report it to the police immediately."

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