Families in distress over 'horrendous' graveyard vandalism

Emotional families have spoken of their distress after "horrendous" vandalism of their loved ones' graves at a Renfrewshire cemetery.

About 40 headstones were smashed and a large wooden crucifix was set on fire at St Conval's on Glasgow Road in Barrhead at the weekend.

One groundsman at the graveyard told BBC Scotland News that he had never seen damage like it in more than 30 years working there.

A 39-year-old man appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court on Monday charged with wilful fire-raising and malicious damage. He made no plea.

The man was remanded in custody for further examination.

At the cemetery some of the tombstones had been pushed over, others had plaques cracked or angels decapitated.

A stream of cars and taxis filed into the grounds as families arrived to check whether their lair was one of those damaged.

Anna Gualeldi feared that her niece's grave would be among those damaged.

She had seen social media photos showing a fallen statue that she recognised as being near to where her niece - also called Anna - is buried.

She was proved correct, and was tiding up broken statues when she spoke to the BBC.

She said: "I was very emotional as my sister and brother in law are up here every day since Anna died in 2003, and they keep the grave beautiful. They're away just now.

"To see all this damage is horrendous. Everybody is in shock, they can't quite believe it. It's very emotional."

Patricia Zecevic also found the statue at her family's grave had been targeted, with the head completely removed.

She hopes that it might be fixed on again in the future.

She explained: "I came first thing this morning, preparing myself for the worst.

"It looked like they've sheared the head off. The fact it's tall and beside a path made me think it would be seen.

"I saw the wings and thought it would be OK at first, but then I saw the empty space between the wings."

Word of the vandalism began to spread on social media on Sunday, followed by a statement from the Bishop of Paisley John Keenan, who is currently in Lourdes.

For those who found their graves untouched, there were mixed feelings, as relief mixed with sadness at what lay around them.

John Minney estimated that the number of family and friends he had buried at St Conval's was in double figures.

Both the vandalism to the graves and the burning of the crucifix - a local landmark - had affected him.

"There's a lot of history here. Hopefully they'll all get sorted," he said.

"There's one near my mother in law's that's been shattered beyond repair and I saw a young boy of about 10 crying over it. The distress is real. Hopefully with due time they'll get back to what it was."

Work is already underway to tidy up and repair some of the most obvious damage.

A staff member told the BBC that phones had been ringing non-stop since the news broke.

Another added: "The cross is a bit of a landmark here. It's made of metal and the statue of Christ is made of concrete, so it's blackened it - luckily it's not badly damaged, just blackened.

"I've been here 36 years and I can count on one hand [cases of vandalism]. It's never been anything like this."

Debris from around the base of the cross has already been cleared away.

However there is still sadness from those picking up the pieces, as Ms Gualeldi observed.

"Even when someone's dead they can't rest in peace," she said.