A shocking act of vandalism could result in CCTV being installed at a Fife cemetery.
Dozens of headstones were toppled at Leslie Cemetery earlier this year, causing anger amongst the close-knit community.
In response, members of the local community council organised a meeting last week to discuss measures that could prevent further crimes from taking place at the graveyard, located on the western edge of the large village.
One of the suggestions was the installation of a security camera at the site entrance on Kinross Road, a move that Jan Wincott, community council chair, said would be explored further.
“The one thing that did emerge from the meeting was that we would start exploring the possibility of putting a Domehawk camera in place.
“Even if people did feel strongly about a camera being put there, it could be moved elsewhere within Leslie.
“It is not like there would be somebody monitoring it 24/7, but if something happens then that footage can then be reviewed and the perpetrators identified.”
More than 65 headstones were knocked over at Leslie Cemetery in May.
The toppled monuments have yet to be reinstated, although funding from the Skene Trust charity has been offered to help repair the damage.
While acknowledging that there was not overwhelming support for putting cameras in place, Mrs Wincott said that the feasibility of such a measure would be examined in closer detail.
“Some people who were there did not think that there is a need for anything,” she said.
“However, I spoke to one lady and she said that she would be all for CCTV.
“There was vandalism in her street, a camera was put in place and that stopped it.
“However, a lot of objections came from the point of view that it rarely happens, so why have cameras?
“But the hard part would be getting money for this, but that is something that we will have to explore.”
Meanwhile, Liz Murphy, service manager for Fife Council, said that work to reinstate the headstones would begin soon.
“We’ll be talking to the Skene Trust about this and how we can get the headstones repaired as soon as possible,” she said.
