‘Disgraceful’: Anger as graffiti daubed on baby memorial in cemetery

An investigation is under way after graffiti was scrawled on a memorial for babies at a cemetery in Dunfermline.

A picture shared by Fife Jammer Locations showed offensive messages left on a memorial stone at the cemetery on Halbeath Road.

The memorial is for “all our babies briefly known forever loved”, and is part of a small memorial garden at the cemetery.

Nearby residents reacted with anger at the picture, with some calling on parents to ask where their children had been.

One mum said: “As the mum of two babies buried locally I appreciate how important their resting place is, so my heart goes out to the parents of the babies whose memorial this is. Absolutely heartbreaking.”

Another person said: “Absolutely disgraceful, no excuse suitable for a crime like this. I hope they find the culprit(s). Thinking of the poor families and their lost ones.”

A third person said: “My thoughts with the loved ones of those who have been disrespected in the cruellest of ways.

“I wonder what on earth happened to someone to make them so evil as to do such a thing.”

Another local man, George Duncan, said: “Lived in Dunfermline all my life, hunted rabbits in the woods around the crem when I was younger and hung around in the woods when we were teenagers – never would we have done something like this in our day – what is wrong with them?”

Police Scotland confirmed the graffiti had now been removed.

A spokesperson for the force said: “Around 10.05am on Saturday May 1, police were contacted with regard to a vandalism at a baby memorial within Dunfermline Cemetery, Halbeath Road, Dunfermline.

“Officers have attended and the graffiti has been removed.

“Inquiries, which are at a very early stage, are continuing.”

It is the second time in recent years the marble stone at the cemetery has been vandalised.

In May 2020, one grandmother was left devastated after discovering the stone, which bears her grandson’s name, had been vandalised.

FAMILIES’ ANGUISH: Messages were scrawled on stonework at the cemetery in Dunfermline but have now been removed, say police.