A BORDERS mum has spoken of her disgust after discovering that her daughter’s memorial bench had been vandalised.

Fiona Campbell said she was shocked after receiving a phone call on May 14 to say that the plaque had been completely scratched on the bench at Cuddyside, Peebles.

Fiona’s daughter, Mandy Brown, was 36 when she died in July 2018.

The bench is where Mandy would often sit and ponder, says Fiona.

“After my daughter died, I asked if I could put the plaque up because she always sat on that bench when she was walking the dog.

“She would always stop there and have a wee think.”

Fiona, of Eddleston, says when she found out about the vandalism she was horrified.

“I was absolutely disgusted that someone could actually do that.

“I’m OK now because I’ve ordered another plaque and it’s going to be back to what it was.”

On the damage, Fiona added: “I’d hate to think it was something that was aimed at Mandy, and hope it was just youngsters being stupid.

“I would like to take those responsible along to the bench and tell them about Mandy and why the bench was situated there and what was written on the plaque and why it was written. It’s somebody’s child that it is commemorating.

“It’s a bit like going into a cemetery and defacing a headstone, what’s the difference?

“It’s the same thing, it’s there to commemorate somebody’s life.”

Fiona says she has now spoken with the police. “I wasn’t going to report it but when I realised there had been so much other vandalism in the town, I decided I should.”

Last month, a memorial tree and plaque dedicated to a local teenage girl were ripped out of the ground in Hay Lodge Park.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We received a report on Monday, May 17, of a memorial bench by the river at Cuddyside being vandalised.

“Enquiries are ongoing.

“Anyone with information that could help should call us on 101, quoting incident 2307 of Monday, May 17, 2021.”