A grieving widower who only buried his wife a fortnight ago has spoken of his heartbreak after thieves targeted her grave.

Brian Wade, 56, of Shaw Crescent, said he was “disgusted” after a soft cuddly toy Tigger was stolen from his wife's grave, only days after he had said his final farewell to Carol Anne Wade, 55, who passed away of a heart attack on March 13.

The theft is the latest in a spate of pots and ornaments that have gone missing from graves in the Chadwell St Mary cemetery.

Mr Wade said: "I was disgusted. It's supposed to be a place where people can go and speak to their loved ones or leave flowers. No-one told me that I was not going to be safe here when I bought the plot. If I had known that I might have thought twice.

“It's horrible and I was also gobsmacked to hear what had been going on with other graves.

“Whoever is doing it should be named and shamed. If they’ve got relatives who have got the same sort of thing – I want them to think how would you like it if it happened to you?”

A council spokesman said people had been “informed” not to place any kind of ornamentation on the “lawn” area of graves.

He said: “The decision to stop locking the pedestrian gates was a cost-saving measure in 2010.

“At the time the council did try locking the pedestrian gates at the end of the normal working day, but we received complaints that the gates were being locked too early.

“The council now locks the vehicle-access gates at the end of the working day, but the pedestrian gates remain open.”