A grieving widower is warning others about "scum" stealing mementos from graves at a cemetery.

He claimed a “costly” ornament went missing from his wife’s grave in Hawkinge Cemetery, near Folkestone over the weekend.

The handwritten notice went up at the Aerodrome Road site and he is calling for gates to close it off overnight.

It says: “Please be aware, thefts are taking place from loved ones’ graves.

“A solar tulip which was a bit different and costly was stolen from my wife’s grave sometime between Thursday, May 11 and Saturday, May 13.

“The scum who stole it obviously thought it would look nicer in their garden.”

The main entrance to the cemetery, which has been open since 1956, does not have any gates and people can access the top of the graveyard from residential roads that back onto it.

The notice added: “I am going to inform Shepway District Council and ask why Hawkinge Cemetery is the only one without gates that lock after a certain time.

“Anyone can walk in at anytime, and they do.

“I am fed up with empty beer cans that they obviously discard after drinking sessions.”

The grounds are maintained by Shepway District Council who has published an extensive set of rules about conduct in the cemeteries.

It says: “No memorial, or part of, shall be damaged or removed without permission of the council.”

It also says that all cemeteries in the district are open daily from 9am to “sunset” but confirmed that there are no gates at all to prevent people from walking into the area after hours.

A spokesman said: “There are no gates to Hawkinge Cemetery and no CCTV cameras.

“We have received a report that an item has been stolen from a grave at Hawkinge Cemetery.

“We are sorry to hear this and the distress that it has caused.

"Reports of this nature are thankfully very rare" - Shepway District Council‎

“Reports of this nature are thankfully very rare.‎

“We are committed to keeping the cemetery as a public open space out of respect to all who wish to visit it. We have no plans to change this.

“To help protect visitors from this kind of loss, we ask, through our cemetery regulations, that no items are left on the graves.

“Any items are left at the owners’ risk.”

The police had not received any reports of thefts over the three days.

If you have any concerns about the security at Hawkinge Cemetery, please get in touch. Email folkestoneexpress@thekmgroup.co.uk or call 01233 895801.