A Christchurch woman is devastated after finding out her flower arrangement placed at the grave of her father has been stolen.

Faith Hensley-Smith placed the flowers at the Waimairi Cemetery in Burnside, but was shocked to find out they were no longer there.

She immediately walked the entire cemetery looking to make sure the flower arrangement hadn’t been moved or broken up. 

Faith told Chris Lynch Media she has contacted the council and was assured they were not removed by them. 

She believes someone may have taken the flowers for a Valentine’s Day gift, or to be used at a funeral.

“We felt gutted.  My sister is in a wheelchair and she takes her dog there,  she noticed they were gone and didn’t want to tell me until she had rang the council to make sure they weren’t moved to the end of the section.”

Faith’s father was a returned serviceman of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Today is five weeks since his death.

She personally put together the artificial flower arrangement with her children, along with decorating the casket herself to keep the costs down.

“It was a part of the grieving process to make the arrangement and casket. As you’ll see from the photo, we matched the colours to the casket.

“He has not been in the ground long enough for this thoughtless act not to hurt. I will replace those flowers for my father but I hope the person responsible is shown up for the person that they are.”