Detectives and police staff who cracked the Yoxall grave desecration case received commendations this week. Staffordshire Police says the investigation - which cost nearly £840,000 - was one of its most high-profile cases in recent years. Chief Constable David Swift presented the awards to the investigation team at force headquarters in Stafford on Monday. The desecration of Gladys Hammond's grave in St Peter's churchyard, Yoxall, in October 2004, shocked the nation. Staffordshire Police declared it a 'critical incident' because of the community impact, wide-scale media attention and affect on the business community. After a complex investigation, four animal rights activists were jailed for a total of 40 years in May 2006 for their part in a hate campaign against the Hall family, which owned Darley Oaks Farm, in Newchurch, formerly used to breed guinea pigs for medical research. Mrs Hammond was Chris Hall's motherinlaw, and her body was taken from her grave. From October 2004 to May 2006, incident room officers took 2,114 statements, traced and interviewed 698 witnesses, gathered and documented 3,413 exhibits and prepared 100,000 documents for the trial. | 
