Johnston road cemetery in Belgravia has been targeted by vandals who stole the copper piping overnight. A caretaker said the night-shift security guard saw four men with pickaxes jump over the vibracrete wall at 3am on Wednesday morning.

When the day-shift security guard took over at 6am, he found the tarmac had been damaged, stolen vibacrete and holes in the ground, in the suspects’ search for copper. The day shift security guard Luzulo, who has been working at the cemetery for the past five years, said the cemetery has become a soft target for opportunistic criminals.

Caretaker Abdullah Salie says a case is being opened at the police station.

The incident comes a few days after the Sayed Abdul Haq mazaar in Deer Park in Vredehoek was also vandalised. A part of the wrought iron that secures the grave had been removed and faeces smeared on the wall of the mazaar. A few weeks ago, the Mowbray cemetery was desecrated, as vandals removed 80 tombstones from the ground and laid them in a cross formation inside the burial grounds – which some believe could be cult activity.

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