A beech tree came crashing down into a Swaffham cemetery, damaging a handful of gravestones.

At around 10am on Saturday, the tree fell, leaving it's roots stuck in the air and gravestones hidden underneath the trunk.

Tony Garrod lives near the cemetery and discovered the damage with his friend Roger Harvey. Mr Garrod, said: 'I spoke to one woman and her young son's grave had an angel on it, but the tree has knocked it's wings off. It was just so unexpected as Swaffham Council have been taking down the ones they thought would fall.'

Roger Harvey, added: 'It is sad, but fortunately it fell into the cemetery. The tree is very heavy and it would have completely demolished the house if it had fell the other way... It has done a fair amount of damage and some of the graves still have flowers on them.'

Whether the repairs will be paid for by Swaffham Town Council - the body that looks after the trees - remains unclear.

Anne Thorpe, mayor of Swaffham, said: 'It is very unfortunate, the town council has to check with it's insurance, but the most important thing at this time is the families.'