Vandals have been accused of “mindless destruction” after ripping a plaque in memory of a woman with dementia from a bench at a Haworth beauty spot.

The plaque remembering the late Julia Hall was torn from its mounting, broken into pieces and left scattered on the ground in Haworth Park.

Mrs Hall’s daughter, Polly Gregg, said: “To the person or persons who committed this cruel and heartless act of vandalism, I have just two questions to ask, ‘Why?’ and, ‘How can you live with the knowledge of what you have done?’.

“The plaque can and will be replaced, but the pain and distress caused will take a long time to heal.”

Her mother used to run a children’s home and had also been a foster carer. She lived in Lindisfarne Care Home, in Bridgehouse Lane, from 2008 and died two years later, aged 95.