TWO Caldicot families have spoken of their “heartbreak” after the graves of their loved ones were targeted by thieves.

Floral tributes and grave ornaments have been taken from the graves at Dewstow cemetery within the last two weeks.

Rebecca Jones said that the flowerpots at the grave of her father Glynn, who passed away aged 73 from a heart attack in 2014, had been secured at the base of his headstone.

“We’ve had some pretty bad weather here over the last few months but they had always stayed in place,” said Miss Jones, who now lives in Magor.

“I’ve spoken to people whose babies or children are buried here and they’ve told me that they’ve had teddy bears taken off their headstones.

“It’s just disgusting, it’s hard to think who could sink as low to do that.”

Miss Jones claims that they have also noticed other flower pots that they know are secured in a similar fashion had also been taken.

The cemetery is ran by Caldicot Town Council and remains open between 8am and 5pm in the winter and 8am to 7pm in the summer.

A groundsman is employed on varied hours but Miss Jones’ mother, Angela, made it clear that the family are not laying the fault at the council’s door.

She said: “Our problems aren’t with the council, they keep the place immaculate, but it’s with whoever keeps coming up here and doing these horrible things.”

A small metal chicken that was on the grave of Stacey Andrews’ brother, Peter, had been placed there to pay tribute a family in-joke but has since gone missing.

Mr Andrews had also died suddenly from a heart attack at the age of 29 in 2013.

“Whoever has done this has gone so far as to unscrew the chicken from the headstone and even take the screws,” said Miss Andrews.

“My niece and nephew noticed it straight away and were just heartbroken. It’s hard to think someone could do this in such a peaceful place.”

Last week, a post by Miss Jones on the public Facebook group ‘Caldicot Community Page’ saw other residents share their own experiences.

One user, Daphne Burke, wrote: “I've already had to replace my dad's flowers only weeks after he left us. At first I thought it was the weather but talking to people I realised it wasn't.”

Mary Lewis, called for families to start a petition to try and get CCTV equipment installed at the cemetery.

Another user, Michaela Lewis, warned that similar occurrences are happening elsewhere in Monmouthshire, with her daughter’s grave in Bulwark cemetery having teddy bear ornaments taken a “disgraceful” amount of times.

A spokeswoman for the town council told the Free Press they had received a report from a funeral directors regarding the Facebook post but had not received any official reports from concerned families.

“While we’ve had similar reports before, these are very rare but we would always suggest that people contact the police with regards to these issues,” she said.