04 April 2023 , 22:05
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A furious mum has been left heartbroken after her son's grave was cruelly vandalised by yobs for the second time in six months.
Debbie Williams' son Warren Lowe died in 2020 when he was just 24, with the young dad leaving behind now five-year-old daughter Viviana.
But heartless louts targeted his final resting place last year - and they've return for another senseless attack in Middlesbrough, Teesside.
After trying to cope with the anguish of losing a child, Debbie is now having to deal with further devastation after her 'gorgeous boy's' grave was 'trashed' again, GazetteLive reports.
The grandma first noticed something was amiss during one of her daily visits to the grave in January, as a number of tokens had been moved out of place.
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The boxing fan's incredible tribute was wrecked by louts (Debbie Williams / NCJ Media)
Debbie Williams has been left devastated after vandals attacked his grave (Debbie Williams / NCJ Media)It was then, that a friend who she regularly sees at the Acklam Cemetery graveyard alerted her to concerns about her son's boxing-ring-themed memorial.
The woman had informed Debbie that a youngster had been spotted swinging on the ropes surrounding his headstone.
After checking the pillars she realised that the stones and ropes had become loose and memorial plaques in the shape of a heart had been flipped on the dad-of-one's grave.
With the help of Roses Funeral Home in Middlesbrough, the grave was quickly re-set, but sadly just weeks later it had been vandalised yet again.
On a visit to see her son on a very 'difficult' Mother's Day, the 50-year-old noticed that two bottles of her son's favourite drinks left on the grave at Christmas had gone missing, and the following day a call from Warren's dad revealed yet more destruction.
The dad's boxing-ring-themed memorial was attacked (Debbie Williams / NCJ Media)
The family want more done to protect the graves (Debbie Williams / NCJ Media)Debbie explained: "The following Monday his Dad called me and said someone has trashed Warren's grave. So he FaceTimed me and I was absolutely devastated, because I was thinking it had been targeted. It absolutely rocked me."
Posts on the grave had been knocked over and damaged, leaving the devastated family with another bill to have the grave repaired. The mum-of-three added: "It's money constantly, I can't afford to keep getting it repaired."
After speaking with others at the graveyard, Debbie thinks the damage is a result of kids messing around and reported it to the police. She was concerned that had Warren's dad not found the damage, her granddaughter Viviana, who was just two when her dad died, could have come across the wreck.
She added: "It's absolutely devastating because basically it's three years coming up for Warren. I thought maybe somebody had a vendetta against me. I don't even talk to anybody or go anywhere apart from seeing him. It's just so hard."
She believes that parents and adults taking their youngsters to the graveyard should be more conscious and respectful of what they are doing while they are there. Saying: "People do let there kids go in, but they let their kids roam all over and play with footballs and it's just not the time."
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As well as reporting her issues to the police, she has involved the cemetery, which is run by Middlesbrough Council, however CCTV located in the graveyard hasn't been in the right location to catch the culprit. Debbie, who is also mum Warren's siblings Candice and Cameron, is hoping that something can be done to prevent further damage so she can return to grieving for her son.
She added: "He was my gorgeous boy. He was my boy. I do miss him everyday and I wish he could just come back home, 24 is no age and I would swap places with him in a heartbeat."
A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said: "We can confirm that we have received a report of criminal damage. Anyone with information can contact 101 quoting reference 052695."
Middlesbrough Council who run Acklam Cemetery have been approached for comment.