A TAMAR Valley mum facing a mystery over damaged flowers at her baby’s grave is asking people to keep an eye out.

Emma Dobson lost her baby Ocean Wakeham in February 2023 and his grave is at Albaston Cemetery.

She was upset and puzzled when roses placed by the headstone appeared to have been deliberately cut.

After posting on a local chat group, Emma received several messages from others sympathising with what happened, and who say that their flowers at the cemetery have been eaten by rabbits or deer.

One person said: “I have seen deer up there eating flower heads. They have eaten all mine too. So we are not just contending with rabbits and slugs now.”

Another said that “rabbits love the new green of roses just below the bud”.

“I woke up one morning to all my new buds on the floor – I no longer have roses in my garden! Try potting up some primroses, bluebells and forget me nots for the spring. Rabbits and deer steer away from any thing with thick dull leaves.”

The suggestion of sprinkling chilli powder on the flowers to put the animals off was also made.

But Emma is not fully convinced. She said: “They don’t look like they have been eaten, they look cut, and there were other flowers there too that were untouched. Plus the grave has a little fence, so I’m worried this isn’t animals.”

Emma, who is currently completing a month of fundraising walks for Sands (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity), says she hopes people will keep an eye out when they are visiting the cemetery.

A spokesperson for Calstock Parish Council, which owns the site, said: “There are deer and rabbits in the cemetery, and I have both in my garden and they do make a very clean cut.

“Whilst we cannot guarantee that no damage will be done to plants, our workmen take the greatest care. They do, however, leave graves that have a lot of ornaments on them as they are a hazard to them.”