Soldier's grave plaque is stolen

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Cpl Bonner was blown up by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan

A brass plaque marking the grave of a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan has been stolen.

Cpl Darren Bonner, 31, of Peterborough, was serving with the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, when he died in an explosion in Helmand in May 2007.

His ashes were buried at Enfield Crematorium in London, and his grave marked by a brass plaque.

Enfield Council has offered a £1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

'Despicable act'

A spokesman for Haringey Council, which owns the crematorium, said: "We were very sorry to discover the theft of the plaque from Darren Bonner's grave and we contacted his family immediately afterwards to inform them of the theft and express our regret.

"We have ordered a new plaque for them, made from acrylic to reduce its chances of being stolen."

Terry Neville, Enfield Council's cabinet member for the environment, said: "This is an absolutely despicable act which plumbs the depths of greed and wickedness.

"These callous thieves must have known this man had died in action for his country but all they saw was an opportunity to line their own pockets."

An spokesman for Enfield Council said its environmental crime unit was contacting scrap metal merchants in the borough to see if the thieves had approached them.

Lt Col Stuart Carver, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, said: "My heart goes out to the family of Cpl Bonner, a superb soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice and is now having his memory defiled."

The battalion recruits from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex.