Man attacked mother’s gravestone with hammer after family dispute

A retired company director was caught trying to smash up his mother’s grave.

Larry Zalcman, 64, was discovered by an attendant in the Jewish section of a cemetery in Long Ditton, Surrey, attacking the headstone with a hammer, and managed to knock a piece off a corner of the stone.

It is believed that Zalcman had been harbouring a grudge after a family row over control of his mother’s finances. Court records dating back to 2009 show that he applied unsuccessfully to be made power of attorney over his mother's financial affairs. According to neighbours, Zalcman then cut off all contact with his mother until her death in 2013.

He was arrested at the time of the incident in November for causing criminal damage and last week was ordered to pay £4,500 towards a new headstone, while promising not to damage his mother’s grave again.