FAMILIES in Wantage have been left reeling after “despicable” vandals ransacked the town cemetery, stealing ornaments and desecrating graves.

Chain Hill Cemetery was targeted overnight on Friday when a number of plots were damaged and granite statuettes cemented to headstones were smashed off.

The full scale of the attack is not yet known, as Wantage Town Council and Thames Valley Police rely on families to report damage.

Police are investigating, but there are no CCTV cameras at the cemetery itself and no arrests have yet been made.

Loreen Spicer discovered on Saturday morning that ornaments had been stolen from the final resting places of her mother, aunt, uncles and cousins.

The mother-of-three, from Grove, said she came from a travelling family, and by tradition their graves were decorated with custom-made statues worth thousands.

Mrs Spicer, wife of BMW Oxford worker Alan, said: “It’s a nightmare. The police have been up there but they can’t get any fingerprints and there’s no CCTV.

“I’ve no idea why it happened. I’m guessing people have targeted us because this is such expensive stuff – we’re talking thousands of pounds.

“It’s disgusting, who would be sick enough to do this? I just want people to be aware so it doesn’t happen again.”

The raiders stole two angels which stood two-and-a-half feet tall from the grave of her mother, Seenia Mareen Stevens.

From her uncle David Rusher’s grave they took two stone horses. They also managed to snap off a model wagon cemented to the stone.

Mrs Spicer said the thieves even stole a cherub statuette from the grave of a baby girl, her cousin Kizzy Smith, who died when she was just a few years old.

She feared the stolen ornaments could be driven far away and sold anonymously.

Mayor of Wantage St John Dickson condemned those responsible and said the attacks were not limited to one family.

He said: “The town council would like to express our deep sympathy with the families. It is unbelievable anyone could be so callous. This is despicable.”

Police spokeswoman Charlotte Redman said the force had received several reports of theft and criminal damage at the cemetery.

She said officers would be reviewing footage from the nearest CCTV cameras and talking to people in the area.