Police were called to St Leonard’s Church in Cleator, which is currently without a vicar, on Sunday afternoon, when the ruined memorials were discovered.
Church warden Elaine O’Pray had to inform distraught family members of the damage.
They will now have to fork out hundreds of pounds to replace the five damaged headstones, which were installed to remember their loved ones.
Mrs O’Pray said: “These people are not getting anything out of it, they’ve just got no respect.
“The families are aware now and it’s going to cost them about £270 each to get them fixed. It’s terrible.
“All the families are disappointed and devastated. The headstones were discovered on Sunday morning, they had been pushed or kicked over. The man who found them managed to put two back up.”
The church warden is now appealing for a volunteer to secure the gravestones to prevent them being knocked over again.
It is the second time in a week that memorials have been damaged in Copeland after vandals destroyed a tree which was planted in memory of Isaac ‘Spike’ Dixon, who was shot dead by gunman Derrick Bird in June 2010.
A witness saw a teenager, who was part of a group of young people, snap the tree in half in Egremont last Thursday.
Copeland mayor Mike Starkie described it as “despicable” and vowed to replace the tree.
Anyone with information about either incident can call 101
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