A HEARTBROKEN father has been left devastated after his son's grave was vandalised for the third time.

John Pender, of Arley Avenue, Bury, told of his despair when he visited the grave at Bury Cemetery, just weeks before what would have been his son's 21st birthday.

He arrived to find the headstone knocked over and shrubs ripped out of the ground. A heart-shaped pillow with silk flowers was missing, along with a number of miniature conifer trees.

Mr Pender's son, also called John, choked to death in August 1995. He was just 18-years-old.

Said Mr Pender: "I went last week to change the water in the flowers and the grave was a total wreck. Plants had been thrown around and the headstone was lying on the ground.

"There has been a lot graves vandalised recently, and it has been allowed to happen time and time again. This is the third time it has happened to John's grave.

"These people have no respect. They have no thought for others at all. It could be them in the ground one day, and then how would their families feel?"

Security at the cemetery is to be stepped up following the increased vandalism.

Mr Martin Hall, the council's divisional manager for client services, said: "There does seem to be a problem at the moment, especially with damage to graves at the weekend. It is heart-breaking for people visiting graves of loved ones to find they have been tampered with."

He added: "At the present time we are actively pursuing security measures with our staff to put a stop to it."

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