A WIDOW was left distressed and shocked when she discovered a used a condom and needle casings as she laid the ashes of her husband at Malmesbury Abbey last week.

The 63-year-old retired nurse, did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, but said she had noticed one of the casings in long grass while the vicar conducted the service at the abbey's memorial gardens.

Her son and mother, who were also at the service last Tuesday, also saw two needle casings and a used condom. Her 12-year-old granddaughter, was also upset to see them.

The widow said: "We wanted a little peace in order to lay my husband to rest, and it was upsetting to think people are taking drugs and having sex in the Garden of Remembrance.

"My mother is nearly 90 and she was quite distressed by it."

Funeral director James Beesley said: "It was extremely distressing to the family who were already very upset. To find this type of litter in the church yard is despicable."

The find comes just a week after vandals seriously damaged a memorial to stillborn babies in the garden.

The widow said: "The first thing we saw was the smashed memorial. It is sacrilege."

She said she was now having difficulty sleeping because she wondered whether she had made the right decision to have her husband's ashes laid at the abbey.

She said although she did not want to put people off using the abbey, she felt that by speaking out it might prompt action to solve the problem.

"Something needs to be done, perhaps CCTV cameras would be the answer," she said.

In the June edition of the abbey's parish magazine, churchwarden John Miller admitted hypodermic needles had been discovered in the grounds.

The parochial church council took the decision earlier this year to lock the abbey gates overnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Cameras, however, have been dismissed in the past as too expensive.

Malmesbury's acting sergeant Phil Connor said the police were targeting the memorial gardens and cloister gardens.

He said: "We are working with other authorities to come up with a solution."