Crash woman's memorial vandalised

The solid oak memorial has been reduced to a pile of logs

A hand-carved memorial to a 21-year-old crash victim from Hayle in Cornwall has been vandalised with a chainsaw, only days after it was put in place.

The solid oak bench dedicated to Unity Perkins, who was killed last September in a collision, took a craftsman nearly a year to complete.

Ms Perkins' parents said they were "shocked and saddened" by the attack on the bench at Upton Towans.

Police are investigating the vandalism which took place on Wednesday.

Unity's parents Jonathan and Caroline said in a statement: "It's the act of a disturbed and selfish person of limited intelligence and no compassion who has taken away the pleasure and comfort it gave to her family, friends and the many people who appreciate the serenity and magic of its beautiful surroundings.

"We hope that the police will bring the perpetrator to book."

'Utter disbelief'

The damage was discovered on Thursday morning by Cornwall Wildlife Trust reserves officer Nick Marriott.

"My first reaction was one of utter disbelief," Mr Marriott said.

"I set out specially to see the memorial and came over the dunes, only to be confronted by this appalling sight.

"Unity used to love walking her dog on the dunes and the bench was carved to look like a piece of driftwood to be sympathetic to the Towans."

The memorial was carved to resemble a piece of driftwood

Mr Marriott said the vandalism had upset many local people, who had raised more than £1,000 for the bench.

Colin Milburn, a carpenter from St Tudy who created the memorial, said the bench was set in place in the dunes on Monday.

"Unity's parents were there when we put in the bench and it was highly charged and emotional - even my brother had a tear in his eye because they were so pleased with the bench and what it meant," he said.

"When the warden phoned me to say he'd gone to look at it and found a pile of chopped up firewood, I thought he was joking at first."

Ms Perkins was killed when her car was involved in a collision with another car on St Ives Road, near Lelant, on 22 September 2008. An 18-year-old man was arrested and later bailed.

Police said he had been reported for causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by careless driving and other motoring offences.

A file has been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.