£36k fence to thwart High Wycombe grave vandals (From Bucks Free Press)

£36k fence to thwart grave vandals at High Wycombe Cemetery

10:42am Tuesday 7th February 2012 in News By James Nadal

High Wycombe Cemetery

GRAVE desecrating vandals will be thwarted from inflicting further pain on grieving families with a new £36,000 security fence at High Wycombe Cemetery.

The plan was approved last night following severe damage to memorials to loved ones at the Hampden Road site last year.

Firstly, about 20 Muslim graves were desecrated in April.

In June the family of Olivia Chandler, who tragically died, aged eight, of an asthma attack, told of their devastation after finding her grave had also been vandalised.

After discussions with police officials, Wycombe District Council has decided to install the fencing.

However, there will be no CCTV because of the lack of lighting, tree cover and layout of the grounds.

Councillor Victoria Groulef, Leader of the Labour group, was among a working party which examined how to prevent further damage at the cemetery.

She said: “There's been a huge amount of vandalism to people's graves, there's been a lot of relatives who have contacted me that have been extremely hurt at a vulnerable stage of their lives.

“Undoubtedly that has to influence these decisions and we have a responsibility as a council to bear this in mind.”

WDC Leader Alex Collingwood and his Cabinet agreed to the plans for the £36k high triple spike palisade fencing.

The meeting was told, however, due to the volatility of steel prices, this amount could change.