Families have told of their distress after up to 20 graves were vandalised at Manchester's largest cemetery.
Ornaments, statues and keepsakes were smashed, photographs damaged and headstones defaced at Southern Cemetery in south Manchester.
Distraught relatives discovered the damage on Saturday morning. The incident has now been reported to the police.
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Delia O'Rourke, whose mum Margaret's grave was among those vandalised, said: "There was glass smashed on the grave, there were ornaments smashed. A statue was smashed and kicked halfway down the cemetery.
"It's disgusting. A cemetery should be a place of rest. It was just heart-breaking. We lost my mum just two years ago. It was her birthday a few days before all this happened and they even snapped some of her birthday balloons off the grave.
"We were really upset when we got there and saw what had happened. We tried to help clean up the other graves before the relatives got there."
Vincent Mallon witnessed some of the damage on Saturday morning. He said: "There was a picture of a lady that was all smashed, a bench that had been thrown on top of the grave. A lot of the grave markers, the little wooden crosses, had been thrown all over the place. It was disgusting. The families were just distraught."
A council spokesperson said around 15 vandalised graves had been reported, but relatives say the number of plots targeted could be up to 20.
Following the incident concerns were raised about a gate on Princess Road being left open overnight. The council say the entrance will now be locked.
A spokesperson for Manchester council said: "The Council is dismayed that anyone would willingly deface a gravestone, let alone the personal memorials and keepsakes which families have left at the cemetery. When this crime came to light GMP were contacted immediately by the Council to try and discover the perpetrators.
"Given the number of entry points to the cemetery the closure of one gate may not provide any additional security or prevent a repeat of this crime, however following this incident the Council has instructed its security contractor to close this entrance during the evening. Security patrols were also increased over the weekend in response to this criminal behaviour."
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