VANDALS smashed a wooden bench in the memorial garden at Malmesbury Abbey and urinated at the entrance to the church over the weekend.

The attack has forced the abbey to remove the three benches in the garden until it can be sure that they will not be damaged.

Deputy Mayor Charles Vernon said: "It really is very sad that we have people in our community that do such mindless acts to such wonderful gifts given to us by relatives."

The benches, which cost several hundred pounds each, had brass plaques with inscriptions in dedication to friends and loved ones.

The vandalised bench had originally been dedicated in memory of Bobby Thomson who lived from 1900-1977. It had been refurbished in 2000 but was found with several slats removed and broken.

The plaque read: 'The refurbishment of this bench is dedicated to the loving memory of Daisy May and Claude Norton.'

The other benches also showed signs of damage and the flowers in the porch of the church had been destroyed and strewn across its entrance.

The benches have been placed inside the church for safe keeping.

The honorary verger of Malmesbury Abbey, William Blake, has said he has the names of two of the youths who he believes were responsible for the damage. Inquiries are being made at local schools to find the culprits.

Last week, Mr Blake spoke about building trust in order to combat the problem of youth crime at the abbey.

He said: "A lack of respect for property is part of the problem. This is a community issue and so is something that everybody should be aware of.

"I have opened dialogue with young people and feel we are making progress."

Malmesbury has had a spate of problems with youths over the past few months.

The abbey is a popular meeting place for youngsters particularly over weekends.

The police have responded to the trouble by issuing a letter to the parents of children who are continually behaving in an anti-social manner.

Over the last month three letters have been sent out to the parents of youths in Malmesbury.

A police spokesman said: "We are working hard with other agencies to curb the problem of anti-social behaviour of young people in the town and Malmesbury Abbey."

The letters could be used as evidence if police apply to the courts for anti-social behaviour orders.