Equipment worth thousands stolen from cemetery

Thousands of pounds worth of equipment has been stolen from a cemetery near Skegness.
Thieves cut their way into a container that was used to store mowers and cemetery equipment.Thieves cut their way into a container that was used to store mowers and cemetery equipment.
Thieves cut their way into a container that was used to store mowers and cemetery equipment.

Thieves removed hedging at St Mary's Cemetery in Winthorpe and cut a barbed wire fence, before cutting into a container that was used to store mowers and cemetery equipment.

The theft took place either late Wednesday night or in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Town clerk Steve Larner said: "I would appeal to anyone who may have heard or seen anything or has suspicions as to who might have done this, to contact the Skegness Police who are investigating the theft.

"The thieves must have caused a lot of noise using cutting equipment and must have had a large vehicle parked up nearby.

"It is felt that this was probably undertaken by organised criminals.

"We are still assessing what impact this will have on maintenance of the cemetery and burials.

"This is sad news for Skegness at a time when locals and businesses are already under pressure as a result of Coronavirus.

"Cemetery workers are angry and upset by the theft. They feel it’s a real kick in the teeth having been working hard through the restrictions to keep the cemetery open for funerals and to enable residents to still visit loved ones’ graves, only for the equipment they need to do their job to be stolen."

Lincolnshire Police confirmed the incident was reported to have happened between 3.30pm on April 22 and 8,10am on April 23. Investigations are ongoing, but so far there have been no arrests,

Any persons with information should call us on 101 incident 65 of April 23.