Heartbreak as Nottingham baby memorials damaged by vandals

Trees have been pulled out of the ground in the baby remembrance garden

Families have said they are "devastated" after a baby loss memorial garden was vandalised.

Memorial trees have been pulled out of the ground, plaques damaged and metallic petals with babies' names on stolen from Serenity Garden, in Highfields Park, Nottingham.

Leanne Louch, whose twin boys' tree was uprooted, said she was "absolutely heartbroken all over again".

Police said no arrests had been made and they were still investigating.

Charity Forever Stars said cars, vans and caravans have been driven through the garden leaving tyre marks and other damage

Charity Forever Stars said approximately £10,000 of damage had been caused to the garden it spent more than three years designing, fundraising and building it before it opened last month.

The charity said over the past week-and-a-half two plaques had been destroyed, two metallic memorial petals attached to a woven acorn sculpture stolen and two trees uprooted.

Flowers had also been pulled out the ground.

Tyre marks were also left in the garden, and human excrement and dumped rubbish were found there, the organisation said.

The charity and families have been fundraising for the garden for years

Ms Louch said her twin boys - Thomas and Jack - were born at 21 weeks and four days on 1 July 2016 and as their deaths were classed as a miscarriage, and not stillbirths, they did not have a grave.

"The whole garden is important to me and the rest of my family," she said.

"My grandma lives down the road - she is 82 and every Friday she takes flowers and de-weeds around the tree."

Kathleen Hill, Leanne Louch's grandmother, takes flowers to Thomas and Jack's memorial tree every week

Ms Louch, 35, of Carlton, added it was upsetting to see the photograph of her boys' tree on the ground.

"It is just horrible. I am absolutely heartbroken all over again," she said.

"When I gave birth to the twins, they were born sleeping and I nearly died as well. For my mum, it is completely heartbreaking for her."

She added she had started a fundraising page for the garden.

Leanne Louch said the vandalism had brought back the pain of losing her babies

A plaque dedicated to Daniel Barnett's baby Harrison, who was stillborn one week before he was due in 2016, has been taken off its stake and damaged.

A gold metallic petal in Harrison's memory was also stolen from the acorn sculpture in the garden.

Mr Barnett, who is a trustee of Forever Stars along with his wife Laura, said: "[The garden] is massive for us. We had lost our niece the year before we lost Harrison.

Vandals damaged the woven acorn sculpture and took two memorial petals from it

The 40-year-old from Long Eaton said as a family they took part in a year of fundraising, including getting the town rugby club involved, and made about £22,000 for the garden.

"I have seen it from the drawings. I have spent a lot of time there. I was there everyday, digging, setting it up, and watering," he said.

"For the last year, it has been a massive part of our lives. It is devastating. I am absolutely furious about it."

Daniel Barnett and his wife Laura Barnett (centre) have been trustees for Forever Stars for the past couple of years

Jo Sharp, from Forever Stars, said there had been "a great outpouring of support" since the vandalism.

"It is horrible for all of those families but we will put it back to its former glory, if not better," she said.

On Wednesday staff from nearby Frontline Recruitment Group were litter picking to help clear the garden and on Thursday the acorn sculpture was repaired by the artist free of charge.

Councillor Sally Longford, deputy leader of Nottingham City Council, which owns the land the garden has been created on, said she was "disappointed and concerned" about the damage.

She said: "This is a dedicated area of Highfields set aside for people to reflect on the passing of loved ones, and these incidents of vandalism are hugely disturbing.

"We will continue to work with Forever Stars and the police to help in any way we can."