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Gravestones wrecked by youngsters

Children as young as 11 went on a wrecking spree at a cemetery in Angus. About 10 gravestones at the Brechin Cathedral burial ground were damaged, including some memorials which date back to the 17th century.

A pane of glass on the cathedral communion table was also smashed during the incident on Saturday.

Minister at the cathedral, Reverend Scott Rennie, said: "I was really disappointed and saddened.

"It's difficult to imagine what goes through the minds of those who do this kind of thing, because these [gravestones] have stood there for hundreds of years and nobody's disrespected them, but not so this weekend.

"The sandstone is very fragile, so it's quite weathered and it meant that it was quite easy for whoever did it to chip off the inscriptions.

"They're in fragments now so they'll never be able to be restored."

He added: "We get a huge number of people who contact us, mainly from America, Canada, Australia, looking to trace their family histories, very often requesting a photograph of the family graves."

Full story at BBC Scotland News.