When he lost his dad, devastated son Ian Longley and his family created a small memorial in his memory at Hutcliffe Wood, Sheffield.

For months, it provided them with somewhere to remember the man they loved, Ellis Longley, a former blacksmith from Killamarsh, and to share precious memories of the dad, grandfather, and great grandfather. But on Friday, the family was devastated to find that it appeared to have been wrecked, with parts missing, presumed stolen.

Ellis had died in March aged 92, and the memorial had been in place ever since, under a tree in the grounds of the Sheffield Council-run Hutcliffe Wood crematorium where his funeral was held.

His family created their memorial using a little basketwork fence, with flowers and tributes inside, including a hand-sized pebble decorated with the words granddad, and a picture of a man fishing, in tribute to Ellis, who was a keen angler. Devastated son Ian, from Sothall, said he thought stealing from a memorial in a cemetery was as low as life could go.

Ian Longley (pictured left) and his family were left upset after suspected theft and damage to a memorial they had created (pictured right) to his father, Ellis

placeholder image — Ian Longley (pictured left) and his family were left upset after suspected theft and damage to a memorial they had created (pictured right) to his father, Ellis

He said: “For the memorial, we used the tree where we scattered dad’s ashes. We put a little edging round it and made it neat. My daughters put little plaques inside saying ‘granddad.”

“It’s not valuable. But we are just upset that someone damaged it and took things from it. I’m 62 and I can’t get my head round a lot of things that go on today, but I really cannot understand why someone would have done this. My grandson is only three and he’s the most upset about it.”