Dorothy Davidson, of Devizes, was appalled to learn the headstone at her parents' grave had been pulled out of the ground.

Mrs Davidson, 68, of West View Crescent, and her daughter, Heather Paget, found the headstone lying flat on the grave when they visited Devizes Cemetery on Saturday.

She had been alerted by her other daughter Mandy Lavender.

The family originally thought vandals were responsible, but were shocked to discover it had been done by cemetery staff.

Theresa Coles, the assistant town clerk at Devizes Town Council, said: "We appreciate how upsetting this can be for relatives and friends.

"We took the action after we did our annual safety check in which we found 32 memorial stones in a rather precarious state.

"We laid them down. If we hadn't they could have fallen on a visitor."

She said: "We do everything we can to ensure the safety of visitors to the cemetery."

But Mrs Davidson said the headstone at her parents' grave was sturdy.

"The headstone was not a danger, it wasn't loose or unsafe," she said.

"I can't believe they could do this. They have desecrated the grave stones.

"What has upset me most is that they can ride roughshod over people's feelings.

"I can understand that they perhaps don't know who the people are who tend the graves but they could have put stickers on the headstones affected or put a notice up at the cemetery informing people what they planned to do."

Mrs Paget, of Waiblingen Way, Devizes, said: "My grandparents' headstone was standing upright.

"It was unnecessary for the headstone to be moved. It was just yanked out of the ground.

"The cemetery staff can see my grandparents' grave is tended, with fresh flowers, so they could have put a notice up to inform us."

Mrs Davidson now faces paying a stonemason to make the headstone safe.

"I feel angry that I will have to pay as there was nothing wrong with the headstone. It's vandalism," she said.

jcrooks@newswilts.co.uk