MORE than £1,600 has been raised for a baby memorial garden which was destroyed by vandals.

The baby memorial at Bolton hospital was damaged beyond repair in March and council staff shocked by the destruction have raised £1,638 with a raffle.

This money is the start of a fund to refurbish the garden with a new, more robust focal point.

Andy Lee is overseeing the garden’s refurbishment, he said: "We’re now looking at ways of keeping the original design but making it more robust and vandal proof, such as using the hand design within the stonework. People have talked about gating the area off but we want to keep it open for parents who want to come and visit the garden out of hours. We don’t want this mindless act to restrict the opportunities bereaved parents have to visit and remember their babies.”

Sharon Bristow and Tina Glenn who both work for Bolton Council organised the Easter raffle with Ms Glenn's Slimming World group.

Ms Bristow said: "I think it is a cause that touches a lot of people. A lot of people have or know someone who has lost a baby and when they heard what we were doing wanted to be involved. The community really did come together."

A fundraising page, justgiving.com/campaign/babymemorial, has been set up and the bakery Greenhalgh’s has said it will match what is raised.

The sculpture was erected in 2017 and cost £5,000 to install.

Anyone with information about the crime should call 101 quoting 1061 of 12/03/19.