Pigs have rampaged over graves, uprooting grass and floral tributes, at a Penryn cemetery.

A large area of the new Glebe Cemetery, which was built on land behind St Gluvias Church after the church cemetery became full up, has been affected.

Penryn widow Carol Pellow, from Saracen Place, could not believe her eyes when she went to the cemetery to lay flowers on her late husband Bobby's grave and found that the turf had been turned over and flowers were scattered everywhere.

Other graves disturbed by the pigs include that of popular Penryn journalist Vicky Annear and one belonging to day-old baby Shane Michael Ockwell, who died on December 18, 2005. A soft toy teddy bear that had been left by the side of the baby's grave had been left muddy and dishevelled after it was trodden on.

However, the grave of former Cornish Linen Services worker Paul Caddy, who had been buried just a few days before, had not been touched.

Shocked, Mrs Pellow complained to the church before being told that the land was owned and maintained by Penryn town council. She was then informed by the council that the cause of the disruption was pigs that had got loose and rampaged over the site.

It is understood that this is not the first time that the pigs have been loose on cemetery grounds.

Mrs Pellow said: "It's upsetting, very upsetting. It looked like a bombsite. I came by myself, as I thought I'd lay some flowers on the grave. I just walked in, saw it and walked out again - I couldn't believe it. I couldn't think straight. It was awful - horrendous."

She described seeing the cemetery in such a state as "terrible." She is still grieving for her husband Bobby, who died on Easter Sunday this year, aged 62.

She was so upset that that she contacted her close friend, Carol Smith, to ask if she would accompany her back to the cemetery.

Mrs Smith said: "It's awful - horrendous really. They should keep the pigs under lock and key, more secure. I think the council will have to get new turf for the cemetery. It's a shame."

Initially, Mrs Pellow thought that vandals had caused the mess, before finding out that it had been pigs, when she reported the damage. It is not clear exactly where the pigs came from.

Kevin Paul, Penryn town clerk, told the Packet that he had been informed of the damage on June 26 and had asked the council's contractor to restore it as a matter of priority. However, when the contractor went to carry out the work on the Friday, he found that the turf had mysteriously been re-laid and grass seed had even been sown. Mr Paul said he had "absolutely no idea" who had done the work.

He continued: "The long and short of it is that the work appears to have been done. Somebody has taken it seriously. There wasn't any damage to the headstone. There were a couple of grave areas that were trodden on, but weren't badly stirred up. But obviously people were upset that the grave area had been mauled around like that."

Mr Paul said that this was the second time that the pigs had been found on the site. On the first occasion there had only been a small amount of damage, but this time the damage was more extensive.

"The first time we accepted it was a one-off, accidental, unfortunate thing. The second time is, to say the very least, careless. Certainly if it happens again my council are going to be extremely upset and we'll probably look to take some action," he added