‘I felt sick’: Woman left devastated after mum’s ashes wrecked by vandals

A woman has been left “disgusted” after vandals ruined her late mum’s memorial and broke the custom urn holding her ashes.

Vandals broke into the Honor Oak Crematorium in Brockley Way on April 2 and 3, destroying around 100 flower holders and smashing glass inside the crematorium.

Becky Wickes, 46, from Kilmorie Road in Forest Hill, said she “felt sick” when she discovered on Saturday that her mum, Janet Wickes, had her ashes taken and it was like “losing her all over again”.

She told South London Press: ” I went to visit her like I do every week and when I pulled up I knew something was wrong. It looked bare and odd.

“As I approached I saw the flowers and the rock with her ashes were gone.”

Janet Wickes’s ashes are in a custom made urn which is shaped like a rock. Her daughter spent three nights wondering where it had gone but when she returned to the cemetery on Tuesday the staff told her it had been found.

“It was the biggest relief ever,” she said. “I couldn’t think about anything else properly until she was safe back in my arms. I hadn’t slept for three nights.”

Unfortunately the rock was damaged by the vandals but the ashes inside remained untouched. Ms Wickes has paid for a plaque and rose bush for her mum who died last June at the crematorium, but said she would “think twice before leaving her ashes there” again.

Her aunt also has a memorial at the same venue.

She added: “It’s disgusting. I don’t what possessed them to even think about doing that. There’s nothing of any value to anyone there except the families.”

A spokesman for the Met said: “On Sunday, April 2, police received a report of criminal damage that is alleged to have occurred at Honor Oak Crematorium. It was reported that around 100 flower holders had been damaged and glass from inside the crematorium had been smashed. 

“On Monday, April 3, police received a separate report of damage to a memorial room at the site. A specialist scenes of crime officer visited the crematorium to carry out a forensic examination.

“It is not known if the incidents are linked and officers from the neighbourhood policing team in Peckham Rye are carrying out further enquiries to establish the circumstances.”

Southwark council, who are responsible for the security at the crematorium, have been contacted for comment.

Pictured top: Janet Wickes and her empty memorial flower bed after the vandals attacked it (Picture: Becky Wickes)