A grandmother says her family is “devastated” by damage to her daughter’s grave in Bowling cemetery.

Mary Crosby, 61, said she broke down in tears when she saw that two angel figures on the headstone of her daughter, Tracey, who died aged 30 in 2012, had been seemingly targeted by vandals. Police are now appealing for information about the “heartless” incident, which they say occurred overnight on Saturday.

Mrs Crosby, of Fenwick Drive, Woodside, Bradford, had visited the grave with Tracy’s two children at 5.30pm on Saturday, and was upset to find that flowers and cards and teddy bears left there on Mother’s Day the previous week had been ripped up.

During a visit to the cemetery the following morning, Mrs Crosby’s brother-in-law saw the damage to the £8,000 headstone, and alerted her and husband Albert, 60, who then contacted police. “This is the first time this has happened, and you just think, why would anyone do such a thing?” she said.

“We were all just devastated. My grandchildren were really upset as all the things they had made for Mother’s Day had just been ruined.”

A police spokesman said that two angel figurines had been damaged in the incident.

“When we saw the damage, my husband and I just broke down and cried,” said Mrs Crosby. “I go to the grave three or four times a day, and I’ve only missed one day since she died. It’s a huge part of our lives, and we just don’t want this to happen again.”

Councillor Hassan Khan (Lab, Bowling), whose area covers part of the cemetery, said: “My sympathies go to the family, as this is obviously a very sensitive issue.” Sergeant Mick Cheetham, of the Bowling & Barkerend Neighbourhood Policing Team, said an investigation into the incident was ongoing.

“This is a heartless and disturbing crime,” he said. Anyone with information should call police on 101.