A couple who suffered the heartbreak of a miscarriage have condemned pet owners who allowed their dog to foul their children’s grave.

Katie McCarton, 27 and her husband Gary, 31, of Brooks Way in Lydd, have been trying to have children together through IVF and in 2014 Katie became pregnant.

But the couple suffered tragedy in September that year when twins Teddy and Beau were stillborn after five months.

The children were buried at Lydd Cemetery where there is a headstone in their memory and both parents go to tend the grave.

But on her regular visits there, Katie says she has encountered dog fouling and last weekend she was shocked to discover dog mess left on top of her twins’ grave.

She said: “This is not the first time it has happened.

“On previous occasions the dog mess was left on the pathway but this was the third time and it was left right in front of the headstone.

“I was very angry because it’s the loss of my twins. It’s the only place I can go to see them, I was really upset.

“I go there every week and I find it really difficult to go there, I don’t walk around I just drive in as close to the grave as I can.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable.

“I’ve grown up with dogs myself and never left their mess anywhere, so it’s really mean when someone you love is no longer there.”

She said that having grown up on a farm she could tell the mess was that of a dog, and not a fox or other animal.

She added: “I have no other children. Gary and I are saving up for IVF again but we’ve had to delay that to pay for the headstone for Teddy and Beau.

“If I could say one thing to dog owners in the cemetery, it would be that they should be more respectful.”

The cemetery is run by Shepway District Council. Report dog fouling here.