Herd of escaped cows destroy graves in Strabane cemetery

AN investigation has been launched after a herd of cattle, which broke loose in Strabane at the weekend, caused extensive damage to a local graveyard.

During the rampage on Friday at Strabane Cemetery in the Head of the Town, headstones were knocked over, ornaments damaged and some graves were even disturbed.

The cattle also made their way through the town and were spotted on Bridge Street and Bradley Way.

Springhill resident, Cheryl Bogle remarked how ‘heart-breaking’ it was to find her mother and step-father’s grave destroyed.

“My step-father’s daughter rang me to tell me that the grave was wrecked, so she came and picked me up and we went up to the cemetery to find the grave in a bad way,” explained Cheryl.

“It wasn’t very nice to see the grave in that state.

“There’s literally nothing left on the grave. There’s a hole in the grave itself, the surround is all broken and, other than one posey of flowers, all the rest of the ornaments on the grave are broken.

“It’s all sentimental pieces that have been gathered up over the years between both families and my mummy actually bought the headstone and surround all herself when her husband died.

“It’s heart-breaking to have to see it like that.”

The damage wasn’t confined to one grave according to Cheryl, with much of the graveyard suffering the effects of the rogue cattle.

“It wasn’t just restricted to our grave,” Cheryl continued.

“There were other graves damaged too throughout the entire graveyard, some headstones were completely knocked over, ornaments damaged and some graves had even been disturbed.”

After arriving at the cemetery, Cheryl rang Derry City and Strabane Council to report the incident.

“I contacted the council immediately and they told me not to tidy the grave because they wanted to get their own photographs taken,” the Strabane woman added.

“All they could tell me was that they were going to open an investigation because they needed to find out who owned the cows for somebody to take liability to get the grave fixed again.

“It has to be a local farmer, we know that. It’s just a matter of finding out who the farmer is to see if he will accept responsibility for it.”

Cheryl added, “I just want to be able to clean it up at least so it’s not left like a dump.”

A spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council confirmed that cattle gained access to the Strabane Cemetery grounds last week causing damage to a number of graves.

“Council understands that the incident is deeply regrettable and distressing for families whose graves were affected and work is taking place to repair any damage caused,” said the spokesperson.

“An investigation into the incident is under way and action is being taken to secure the site to prevent such incidents happening again.”

The spokesperson also appealed to farmers in the area to take the necessary steps to keep their livestock secure.