THE Bishop of Burnley has expressed outrage after vandals desecrated graves at a Colne cemetery.

The attack, which caused thousands of pounds-worth of damage, is the latest in a long line of attacks by vandals which have left the cemetery under seige. Vandals struck again following assurances from police and the council that measures were being taken to stop them.

Earlier this year police said they were considering installing CCTV at the Keighley Road site, after vandals left 35 headstones desecrated, but they have not yet been installed.

And last year Pendle Council decided to move head ranger Alan Hammett into the cemetery lodge so the gates could be locked at night and a watch could be kept.

Bishop of Burnley John Goddard, said today he was horrified to learn of the latest incident and called on the community to take action to stop it happening again.

He said: "I must express my sadness that some people seem to fail in their respect not only of the departed but of what doing something like this means to families. The community needs to take an active responsibility of care to look after our cemeteries and to keep their eyes open and report incidents to the police."

Police in Colne are now offering a reward to help catch the vandals, who left £16,000-worth of damage during the latest attack in July. Officers said they will pay £350 from the Crimestoppers charity for information which leads to the arrest and charge of those responsible for causing the damage.

Headstones -- some dating back to the 1800s -- were pushed over some time between 5pm on Saturday, July 12 and 9am on Sunday, July 13.

Sgt Vicky Haworth from Colne Police said: "We would like to hear from anyone who has any information about the damage caused at Colne Cemetery. If anyone saw anything suspicious or can name the person or people responsible then we would appreciate a call. That call can be made at no costf, and in complete confidence, to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

"Mindless vandalism like this simply cannot be tolerated. This, coupled with the fact that this particular cemetery has also suffered damaged in the damage, has led us to take the unusual step of offering a reward for information which leads to the arrest and subsequent charge of the offenders."

No one at Pendle Council was unavailable for comment.