Relatives furious at 'state-sponsored' grave desecration

Thousands of graves are being desecrated across the UK. The perpetrators are not mindless thugs but local authorities. Scores of shocked families have found the headstones of their loved ones pushed to the ground, and graves cordoned off.

Councils are taking these draconian measures because, they claim, insecure headstones constitute a risk. They say their actions are merely following Health and Safety Executive guidelines.

The government body advised burial authorities - most of which are councils - to test headstones after three people died and 17 were injured in the past 10 years as a result of accidents.

The final indignity for families whose loved one's memorial has been damaged is to receive a letter from the council ordering them to make the stone safe.

When Mark Sparrow visited Haycombe Cemetery, Bath, to put flowers on his brother's grave, he found that the headstone had been knocked to the floor. At first he thought it was the work of vandals but attached to it was a notice from Bath and North East Somerset Council, ordering the owners to make the memorial secure.

"This is state-sponsored grave desecration," said Mr Sparrow. "I was devastated. Nicholas's headstone was only 30 years old and was quite secure. They left it lying on the ground so someone could have easily tripped over it.

"Countless other gravestones had been laid over. The real reason for all this madness is the insurance industry and the modern scourge of risk assessment."

The family was forced to pay £300 to satisfy the council that it was securely fixed.

A spokesman for Bath and North East Somerset Council said it had a policy of testing the stability of memorials close to an adjoining grave where a burial was to take place in order to ensure the safety of mourners.

Mrs Sylvia Disley, 71, of Haverhill, Suffolk, found that her mother's headstone in the local cemetery had been wrenched from its fastenings, tied up with tape and left leaning against a stake.

"When I was told it was council policy I couldn't believe it," said Mrs Disley.

"They gave me a choice: pay a mason to have it made secure or have the headstone sunk deeper into the ground. I wanted it to look like it did before so I paid £147.

"This is vandalism by my own council. They have ridden roughshod over hundreds of local people who have received the same treatment as me."

A council spokeswoman said, "In hindsight we didn't do enough to inform people beforehand, but we feel we have a duty to make sure graveyards are safe places."

This outbreak of headstone destruction has been made possible by the manufacture of a "topple-tester". This is a hand-held device which exerts a pressure of 35kg on the top of the stone. If any shift is detected, the stone is strapped up with tape and made out of bounds, or pushed over, leaving it lying horizontal. The council may or may not contact the relatives.

Richard Spring, MP for West Suffolk, said: "This is sickening bureaucratic madness.If no relatives can be found and a stone has been pushed over it is simply left, which is totally disrespectful."