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Memorial Thieves

SICK THIEVES have stolen a parents' memorial from the grave of a teenager who tragically fell to his death at cliffs in Portpatrick.

James and Mary McColm are devastated after finding the black cocker spaniel ornament missing from their son's grave in Glebe Cemetery in Stranraer. It took more than a year to find the exact ornament that matched their son's pet dog. And James, 7 Belmont Road, told the "Free Press" this week

"I go up to his grave every night and I felt sick when I saw that it had been stolen".

Christopher McColm died two and a half years ago when he fell 100ft down cliffs at Dunskey Castle. His parents hunted non-stop to find an ornament that matched his cocker spaniel. But, it was not until a year and a half after their son's death that they finally managed to track one down. That success has now been smashed by the thieves.

The spaniel about four inches high was taken from the front of the headstone. James said

"It obviously has great sentimental value and it was not just bought there and then.

"When we eventually found it we were very pleased because we found grey ones and brown ones but it took us about a year and a half to find a black one".