CALLOUS thieves have stolen dozens of plaques from a memorial garden at Waterside cemetery in Evesham.

Around 70 bronze plaques were prised from the Garden of Remembrance in Waterside between Tuesday, July 12 and Friday, July 22.

Each piece of metal is inscribed with the name of a person who is commemorated in the garden, and is roughly the size of an A5 sheet of paper.

Councillor Fred Kaler, Mayor of Evesham, has branded the thefts as "disgraceful" and is calling for help to track down the stolen plaques.

He said: "It is disgraceful, there are no words that can describe it.

"I expect that maybe they thought they were valuable.

"If I find out who it was I would have no hesitation but to report it."

Police in Evesham are appealing for members of the public to come forward with any information about the thefts.

Officers are asking anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the cemetery, or anyone who may have been offered brass for sale in recent days to call 101 quoting incident number 415s of 22 July.

Alternatively, information can be given anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or by visiting crimestoppers.org.uk