Stroud Town Council has condemned the vandalism in the cemetery in Bisley Road.
The 15 damaged stones are in the old cemetery, which is now a nature reserve and is rarely used for burials. Many stones in the cemetery date back to the Victorian period when the Chapel of Rest was built.
“Such desecration of a cemetery is an insult to those who are buried there and a huge disappointment to the Town Council which owns the site and is responsible for its care,” said Town Clerk Helen Bojaniwska.
“We are currently assessing the damage and, at the moment, have no idea of how we will secure funding to repair the memorials. These are historic graves and it will prove challenging to trace living relatives.
“The Town Council would urge anyone with information about this damage to contact the police quoting incident 83 of 30 April at https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/
Information can also be submitted by calling 101 with the same incident number.
