Mum's plea over daughter's vandalised grave

A mother has described the vandalism of her daughter's grave as "heartbreaking" and called on Liverpool's council leader to help find those responsible.

Amelia Smith, 23, died suddenly in her sleep in 2021, just a few weeks after giving birth to her second child.

Her mother, Lorraine Smith, said visits to Everton cemetery were extremely painful for the family.

Council leader Liam Robinson said the vandalism was disgusting and the authority would look at how to deal with the problem.

Speaking to Robinson on BBC Radio Merseyside's Hot Seat phone-in, Lorraine said items had been removed from the grave.

She said: "It's bad enough having to go there anyway because Amelia was only 23 when she passed, but it's just heartbreaking. I feel like screaming."

She said plant pots had been taken despite being "glued down", adding she believed someone had used tools to remove them.

Objects have been taken over the past five years, she said. Stones forming what she described as a "little pathway to heaven" around the grave had been removed earlier this week.

She said the stones were quite heavy and would likely have needed to be carried away in a bag.

Lorraine said she had raised the issue with the council's cemeteries and parks team.

Robinson said anyone stealing from or vandalising a grave was behaving in a way "the vast majority of people would be disgusted by".

He said he would look at the issue with the parks team, who are "sensitive to the needs of families that have got loved ones that are buried in our cemeteries".

Mr Robinson added that if a pattern emerged, the council could consider installing motion-sensitive "hunter cameras", which are often used in wildlife photography.

Lorraine urged anyone else affected to report incidents to the authorities to help put an end to the heartache for families in her position.

She said dog fouling in the cemetery had caused further upset, describing how her husband had knelt in it while tending to their daughter's grave.

Mr Robinson said he would ask the council's enforcement team to send wardens to fine irresponsible dog owners.

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