Thieves steal £1,000 flower display from mum’s grave days after funeral

A son has been left devastated after £1,000 worth of flowers were stolen from his mum’s grave days after her funeral.

Paul McMullin, 57, paid for six flower arrangements for Sheila Jean Tunstall, 84, who was cremated on December 13.

But when the family visited three days later, they were nowhere to be seen at Efford Cemetery and Crematorium.

Paul said: ‘We can’t believe someone would do such a thing. We’re absolutely devastated.

‘It’s absolutely disgusting and we want to get the word out.’

At first, the family believed the flowers had been moved by someone who works at the crematorium.

But once staff confirmed they had not touched them, the only conclusion was someone had pinched the flowers.

Paul said: ‘We didn’t get to properly take in the display on the day of mum’s cremation because it was all so emotional.

‘So we wanted to go back and take it all in properly – only to find we couldn’t.

‘The flowers were really amazing. They almost didn’t fit in the hearse because they were so big.

‘We wanted to do mum proud and give her a proper send off. I don’t understand how someone could do this.’

Although the family have reported the matter to police, they’ve been told not much can be done due to the lack of evidence.

A police spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of a report of flowers going missing from a crematorium in Efford, Plymouth.

‘Currently there are no leads, anyone who witnessed the theft is asked to contact Devon and Cornwall Police.’

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