Security has been put in place at a cemetery in Co Cork, after vandals caused thousands of euro worth of damage to graves.

They knocked some 20 headstones off their plinths and also smashed statues.

It happened at St Catherine's Cemetery in Kilcully.

Cork City Council said it now has "a fixed security presence on site", which will remain "for the foreseeable future."

An Garda Síochána are also investigating the incident.

Laura Donovan, from Fair Hill in Cork city, discovered the resting place of her mother and two brothers was one of those vandalised.

She told Newstalk Breakfast it was a devastating experience.

"Our family's in a lot of distress for the last few days with this news.

"It is very, very upsetting".

She said she found out what happened as she was "scrolling through Facebook".

"I noticed the Christmas wreath that was placed on the grave for Christmas - so I had to see my family's name on the floor really."

"I was down on Friday... It's absolutely overwhelming the amount of people upset - you couldn't get near the car park, I've never seen anything like it.

"Everybody [was] rushing just to see if their graves had been affected".

Asked what she would say to those responsible, she said: "I just don't think they have a conscience, they mustn't have to do something like that - it's not human, is it?"

"I'm just wondering about the security - will that be temporary.

"I do think there's a lot more that should be done: the surrounding walls are quite low".