Mystery surrounds the disappearance of a gravestone from a cemetery.

Police were called after two men and a woman were seen taking the stone from the Mill Lane burial ground in Shoreham at the weekend.

A witness saw them put the heavy memorial on to a trolley.

Inspector Chris Drew of Shoreham police said: "They lifted it off the trolley and loaded it into the back of a silver four-wheel drive vehicle. It then drove out of the cemetery into Mill Lane.

"This was at 10.15am on Saturday, so we hope others may have seen something.

"The only description we have is that the woman had long hair and there may have been a child with them in the vehicle."

The incident is being treated as a possible theft from the unsupervised cemetery.

However it is possible the gravestone was taken away for cleaning or repairs by relatives.

Several headstones at Mill Lane have been vandalised recently, while others have either fallen or been pushed over.

A spokesman for Adur Council's parks and cemeteries department said it was still investigating the incident.

Anyone with information should call Shoreham police on 0845 6070999.