A Swindon pensioner is distraught after a thief stole from a bench she turned into a tribute to her lost child.

The 62-year-old, who did not wish to be identified, contacted the Adver after discovering a missing part of the memorial scene outside her Liden home on Monday.

The picturesque display is on a bench surrounded by a wild garden cultivated to attract bees.

Small gnomes depicting a father next to a mother holding a baby in her arms, which represents a child she lost during a pregnancy in 1987, have disappeared.

The resident said: "It's horrible, it feels like he's gone again and I'm mourning him again. I only got to hold him once and never got a birth or death certificate for him, that memorial is all I have.

"It used to be a derelict old bench until I waxed and sanded it down a few months ago.

"People stop and take photos, it cheers them up, they tell me it's amazing.

"I'm going through a lot at the moment with my health, and now this has happened.

"It's disgusting - how sick must someone be to think of doing this? I hope they're happy and proud of themselves."

If you can help, email daniel.angelini@newsquest.co.uk or call 07919 057525 and we will pass the information on to her.