Baby's grave vandalised

Barry Wood, 32, discovered the desecration when he went to visit the grave of baby Kara, who was born last August.

Ornaments and trinkets left as a tribute to Kara had been smashed and strewn across the grave in Whit-worth Road cemetery.

Mr Wood and his 27-year-old wife, Kim, of Welcombe Avenue, Park North, were trying to get over their daughter's death, but the vandal attack has been a major setback for them.

To make matters worse, Mr Wood, a painter and decorator, believes he knows the identity of the person responsible but has been told by the police that they cannot take action without evidence.

Mr Wood said: "I went to the cemetery at about 6.30pm on Monday and that was when I saw what had happened.

"The ornaments were all broken up and two were missing altogether, two toy rabbits.

"I was very angry. I just couldn't believe it had happened.

"My wife is absolutely devastated by it.

"Obviously, she still hasn't got over the death of Kara, and with it being nearly a year since it happened, this just makes it worse."

The couple have three other child-ren, aged from two to four.

Mr Wood believes that the person responsible for the vandalism is a man with whom he had a dispute and says the man telephoned him and made a veiled but specific threat to desecrate the grave.

He added: "I went to the police, but they said the only thing they could do was have a word with him.

"Unless he admitted it, there was not a lot they could do because there were no witnesses."

Swindon police spokeswoman Alvina Kumar confirmed that a complaint of criminal damage had been received.

She added: "Vandalism is totally unacceptable and, in this case, totally abhorrent.

"We want to appeal to anybody who may have either witnessed the damage or saw any suspicious activity at the Whitworth Road Cemetery to contact Swindon police.

"We need the public's help to enable the perpetrator to be prosecuted, because evidence is of paramount importance."

The force can be contacted on Swindon 528111.