Heartbroken parents discover baby daughter's grave ransacked at Lancaster Cemetery

Nichola Jephcott and her partner David Harrison visited their daughter's grave on Monday, and were horrified to find some items including solar lights had been stolen and other plants and trinkets left broken or strewn across the ground.

Little Evie Harrison tragically passed away suddenly three years ago when she was just five months old, and her mum Nichola usually visits her grave, which is part of a wider family plot in the centre of Lancaster Cemetery, in Quernmore Road, every day.

However, on this occasion she did not visit at the weekend due to the area being so busy with the three-day Highest Point festival being held at nearby Williamson Park.

And when she returned on Monday with David, they found the grave was in a state of disarray.

"Things had been broken and flowers had been pulled out, and other things had been stolen," Nichola, 34, said.

"There's a picture of her on the grave so people would know it's a baby's grave. We have never had any problems before. People always stop me and say how nice it looks.

"I go up every day but we waited a few days this time because of the festival. It made me feel physically sick when I saw it.

"I had been thinking about getting a bench put in near the grave but I don’t know whether to do that now.

" I don't know how people can go into a cemetery and do something like that. It's absolutely disgusting.

"We contacted the police, and we have managed to put it back how it was now but it doesn't feel the same.”

Nichola, who has four other children aged between six and 15, added: "Luckily we didn't take them with us, I am just glad they didn't see it."

A police spokesman confirmed they had been told of the incident, and that some damage had been caused to items on the grave, and other items stolen.

Anyone with any information can contact police on 101 quoting log 0496 of May 17.