Police are appealing for information following vandalism at a cemetery in West Calder.
The incident took place between 8am on Tuesday (September 13) and 8am on Wednesday (September 14).
The headstone of Dione Melville, who is buried at Hermand Park Cemetery, had been repeatedly damaged.
Dione sadly died in March 2016 at the age of 15 and shares a headstone with her grandfather, Jim Jervis.
Ornaments and vases surrounding the headstone had also been destroyed.
Dione’s family have today released the following statement:
“This has been soul destroying for us as a family and it feels like we’ve lost Dione all over again.
“We are absolutely devastated by this and the family has been in pieces since.
“We just want our beautiful Dione to be able to rest in peace with her grandad, and for us as a family to be able to grieve.”
Inspector Drew Elliot of Livingston Police Station said: “This was a despicable act which has caused significant upset to a still grieving family.
“Graveyards should be a place of respect and there will be an increase in patrols in this area over the forthcoming days.
“The area is frequented by visitors and dog walkers and we’d urge anyone who may have seen suspicious behaviour in this time to come forward.
“I’d also ask anyone who may have information which can help with our investigation to get in touch as soon as possible.”
West Lothian Council’s Depute Leader Cathy Muldoon added:
“It’s absolutely disgraceful to vandalise a headstone, and we’d encourage anyone who has any information on this shocking incident to contact Police Scotland or Crimestoppers as soon as possible.”
Those with information can contact Police Scotland on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
