A grieving mother who lost her baby daughter at a week old is dealing with yet more heartbreak after her little girl’s grave was repeatedly vandalised.

Anna-Marie Jones’s life was torn apart when her tiny baby Billie-Marie Brown died from a heart condition seven days after she came into the world.

She was born on New Year’s Day, 2014, and died in St Thomas' Hospital in London.

Ms Jones, 37, and her partner Kevin Brown, who live in Margate, visit the grave at the Love Lane Cemetery in Faversham every week.

Despite living 25 miles away, Ms Jones wanted Billie-Marie to be buried in Faversham as that is where a lot of her family members are laid to rest.

The couple had decorated their daughter’s grave with soft toys, photographs and ornaments, and buy new flowers every week.

But over the past five weeks, they have found it sabotaged, with flowers ripped from vases, toys thrown on other children’s graves and the fencing broken.

Their four-year-old son Jesse calls his sister’s place of rest Billie-Marie’s garden, and burst into tears when he first saw it.

Once, after disposing of wilted wreaths in the bin, Ms Jones found them elsewhere in the cemetery a few days later, and a family photograph was found a few metres away.

Ms Jones is calling on Swale council to lock the gates during the evenings or set up CCTV and increase patrols to catch the vandals.

"It's heartbreaking and I really wish it would stop. Each time I turn up, I don't know what to expect" - Anna Marie-Jones

She said: “I feel distraught. It is bad enough having to come here to pay my respects to my little girl, let alone seeing her grave torn apart.

“It’s heartbreaking and I really wish it would stop. Each time I turn up, I don’t know what to expect.

“We want the council to shut the gates during the evenings and to put a stop to this.

“We don’t know why people are doing this, but there must be a way to stop them.”

Ms Jones believes a number of children’s graves have been vandalised and is appealing for more parents and families to come forward to complain, so that the council feels obliged to do something.

She had hoped to install a new headstone for Billie-Marie but it is decorated beautifully and was very expensive, and at the moment she is too scared it will get damaged.

Ms Jones said: “It’s very upsetting and I just hope something can be done. I hope that more people affected by it will come forward.”

Swale council spokesman Phil Sutcliffe said: “We have been made aware of some damage to graves at the site, and have requested extra patrols from our grounds maintenance team and environment wardens.

"We have also raised the matter to the police at our regular tasking meetings, so they are also aware.

“Hopefully this extra vigilance will help deter further damage.

“The vehicle gate is currently locked at 4pm, with the two pedestrian gates left open in the summer months to allow people to visit and tend graves in the lighter evenings. They may object to any closure.

“If other users have experienced problems, we urge them to get in touch so we can fully assess what needs to be done and try to find a balance between securing the site and allowing people the access they want.”