Vandals left 65 gravestones smashed or overturned after rampaging through a Worthing cemetery.

Heavy stone crosses and angels were broken during the desecration near the old children's area of the burial ground.

Bereaved relatives discovered their loved ones' graves at Durrington Cemetery, in Offington Corner, had been defiled and alerted cemetery staff.

Many relatives of the dead still do not know the graves have been desecrated.

Ian Rudkin, Worthing Council crematorium and cemetery registrar, said: "How can people do this? I do not understand their mentality."

Cemetery staff were alerted to the damage by a relative who thought the wind had blown over some of the memorials.

Mr Rudkin said they had had one or two incidents of vandalism in the past but never anything on this scale.

He said: "I don't think it is children because some of the stones are very heavy and it would have taken somebody bigger than a child to knock it over.

"It was either adults or a gang."

He said it had been council policy for a number of years to leave the cemetery gates open and for security guards and the police to check on it at night.

He said: "I am sure we will have to review that policy but I don't think locking the gates would have stopped the vandals if they were determined enough to want to break in."

Mr Rudkin said it was going to be very difficult to notify all the families involved because some of the graves were old.

He hoped many of the relatives would read reports of the attack and contact the cemetery.

Worthing councillor Peter Green said: "It's hard to know what to say. It is just so appalling."

Rows 21 and 22 in section 26 of the cemetery were targeted, leaving broken pieces of graves scattered across the cemetery.

A police spokesman said: "We would appeal for anyone with information as to who is responsible for this damage to contact us."