A Bradford woman left devastated by the death of her son said her grief has been compounded by vandalism at his grave.

Pamela Jeffreys’ son Dean died 15 months ago at the age of 20 and was buried at Bowling Cemetery.

Since last Friday a wooden cross marking the grave has been snapped in two, a box of letters and gifts from his friends has been stolen and a bunch of flowers left there has been taken.

Mrs Jeffreys said she cannot understand why her son’s grave has been attacked in this way.

“I don’t like the thought of him being there full stop,” she said. “We’ve still not come to terms with it and this makes it harder.”

She said her son had begun to feel unwell and was diagnosed by doctors at Bradford Royal Infirmary with aplastic anaemia, which left him requiring a bone marrow transplant. About two months later he contracted septicaemia which resulted in his death.

“He never hurt anybody. He had lots of friends, he was well liked and loved by everybody,” said Mrs Jeffreys. “Everybody is devastated, it still doesn’t seem real. He was fit and healthy before, it was such a shock. I still expect him to come tapping on my door.

“I can’t understand why they are doing it, he never hurt anybody. Why are they doing it to him? It is bad enough for me I can’t sleep and I’ve got all this – it’s bad enough losing him without having to cope with all this.

“There’s no CCTV and there should be something there. He’s meant to be there to rest in peace and he’ll never rest while people are doing this.”

John Scholefield, Bradford Council’s bereavement and amenities manager, said: “We are sorry to hear about this incident which must have been very distressing to the deceased’s family.

“We would urge anyone with any information on what happened to contact local police and have asked our staff to be extra-vigilant in the light of this incident. Lately, we have increased security at Bowling Cemetery with extra padlocks on gates when it is closed and we have also asked Council wardens to step up patrols in the area.”

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: “We are aware of these incidents and an investigation is ongoing.”

Anyone who has any information is asked to phone the Bowling, Barkerend and Bradford Moor Neighbourhood Policing Team on 101.