Three held after stone taken from cemetery

THREE people have been arrested on suspicion of stealing Yorkshire stone from a cemetery in Leeds.

Plain-clothes officers were patrolling the Hunslet area early yesterday morning when they came across a group of men pushing a supermarket trolley full of Yorkshire stone through the streets.

It was found to have been removed from family grave plots in Hunslet Cemetery.

Work will be carried out to restore the stones to the plots.

Following inquiries, three local men were arrested on suspicion of theft. They were in custody yesterday.

Police officers and police community support officers have increased patrols in and around the cemetery in recent months following a rise in thefts from graves, including stone and also gifts, along with a number of incidents of damage.

Insp Sue Jenkinson, who leads the Rothwell Neighbourhood Policing Team: “Thefts and damages to graves are sickening crimes which have understandably caused a great deal of distress to many local people within our community, which is why our officers take these offences extremely seriously.

“We have been carrying out additional patrols throughout the area to put a stop to this, and local people can be assured that we will continue to do so until we can put a complete stop to these offences.”

Earlier this week officers patrolling the local area also found a wheelbarrow full of Yorkshire stone in the new section of the cemetery, and chased off a number of people in the darkness. No arrests were made. The stone will be returned to the plots and pathways from which it was taken.

Anyone with information about the theft of stone is asked to contact the Rothwell NPT via 0113 238 2091 or via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.