The regeneration of a Bradford graveyard has suffered a setback after vandals carried out "an act of senseless destruction" and smashed some of its historic headstones.

Volunteers have been working hard to restore the Victorian cemetery, at Heaton Baptist Church, to its former glory since Margaret Gray, 62, of Emm Lane, Heaton, launched a campaign to clear up the graveyard and set up the Friends of Heaton Baptist Church in December 2003.

Mrs Gray said she was devastated by the destruction of the two gravestones which were almost 200 years old.

She said: "It is just senseless and it is very disheartening after all the work we have put in. We have had such a lot of support from people and they are all sickened by this."

Mrs Gray said volunteers had only recently finished work on the part of the cemetery that was targeted by the vandals.

She said: "What upset me most was that the gravestone marked the death of a young man who died in 1913.

"He was a general in the Hussars which is a regiment in the army, and I thought, 'he died serving his country and these idiots come along and do this'."

Mrs Gray said two stone crosses had been destroyed, one completely smashed, resulting in £6,000 worth of damage.

The incident happened last week after volunteers who had been working in the cemetery had left.

The cemetery has been split into four sections and a quarter of the work has been completed to date.

Mature trees have been attended to by a tree surgeon at a cost of more than a £1,000, graves have been either replanted with low lying shrubs or lined and re-pebbled, and 6,000 spring bulbs have been planted.

So far, the cost of the work has been covered by fundraisers such as plant sales and coffee mornings, but the group have put in a bid for £10,000 to Bradford Vision to help restore the rest of the graveyard.

Mrs Gray said there was a lot more work to be done to restore the graveyard.

She added: "It is a wonderful place, a little gem, right in the heart of our village. To bring it back to life, where people can once more feel safe to walk, browse or just sit and reflect times gone by, is our wish and aim."

Anyone with information about the vandalism should contact police at Lawcroft House on (01274) 376259.