Ryhope man donates statue for stolen Sunderland memorial

Sean Hughes has donated an angel statue to replace one stolen by thieves

A memorial garden targeted by thieves has been "restored to its former glory" after a replacement statue was donated.

Gail Sheppard's memorial to 43 people buried in unmarked graves at Sunderland Cemetery was stolen on the night of 27 June.

After reading of the theft, Sean Hughes donated an angel statue for the garden at the gates of the Grangetown site.

Northumbria Police said it was trying to find the original but praised Mr Hughes' "incredibly generous gesture".

Ms Sheppard's home sits at the entrance of the cemetery on consecrated land which was used for burials more than 100 years ago.

After moving in two years ago, she decided to plant flowers and install a sculpture as a tribute to those buried there.

Gail Sheppard created the memorial to commemorate 43 people buried in unmarked graves

Mr Hughes, from Ryhope, said he bought his statue four months ago for his own outdoor project, but was so moved by Ms Sheppard's story he decided to donate it to her.

"I was shocked that anybody could stoop so low," Mr Hughes said, adding: "The statue was clearly of huge sentimental importance to Gail so I wanted to do something to help."

Ms Sheppard said she was "blown away" by the donation, adding: "I'm incredibly touched and it says an awful lot about the community spirit that this region is famed for."

Sgt Mark Ellis, of Northumbria Police, said: "This was an incredibly kind and generous gesture by Sean and I know Gail is so pleased that some kind of positive has come following this crime.

"We still want to trace the original statue and hopefully bring it back to Gail - so we would urge anybody who knows anything about this heartless crime to come forward, or if you have it, drop it off at a police station."