Families upset as council lays hundreds of gravestones flat over 'health and safety'
Grieving families have hit out at a council after hundreds of headstones at a cemetery were laid flat for “health and safety” reasons.
Some of those with loved ones in Heaton Cemetery have criticised Newcastle City Council for not contacting them in advance about the checks and insists the gravestones were well maintained. Some visitors have been shocked to find the headstones toppled over, including a father of triplets who died before their first birthday.
Derek Armstrong visited Heaton Cemetery on Thursday to pay his respects at the memorial dedicated to his three sons and prepare the site to lay his mother-in-law's ashes the following day. When he arrived, he found the boys' headstone lying on the ground with a warning sign attached branding it "unsafe".
Matthew, Daniel and Luke were born on April 23, 1995, at 24 weeks "weighing just ounces". Matthew passed away when he was just one-day-old, followed by Daniel at nine-days-old and Luke aged five-months-old.
Luke was only six inches long when he went through a heart operation, said Armstrong. He initially expected his son to make it out of hospital alive, before doctors told him he was “slowly dying”.
Since the triplets' burial, Armstrong says he has attended the site regularly to pay his respects, particularly in the summer when he plants flowers for the boys. In December, the family also visits to leave Christmas cards for the boys.
Insisting there was “nothing wrong” with the headstone, he said: "It was a big shock when I went there and they were taking graves down. I couldn't get my head around how many they had actually done."
To add insult to injury, Armstrong says has now been quoted £300 plus VAT to have the headstone put back up.
Inspections have been taking place across the country as part of the Health and Safety at Work Act and involve visual and hand push tests of headstones over 2ft tall to check their stability. If any of the headstones are found to be unsafe, they may be cordoned off, have temporary support installed or be laid flat on the grave with the inscription facing up.
The council will then contact the grave owner, who is responsible for arranging for the memorial to be repaired.
'Insensitive and disrespectful'
Armstrong says he was not informed that his sons' headstone had been affected as his address was not up to date, which he accepts responsibility for. He said: "I know it's got to be done, but it's the way that it's been done.
“I'm up all the time during the summer attending to it and it was sturdy, there was nothing wrong with it. It's the time that it's happening too, it feels very insensitive."
A woman whose mother is buried at the same cemetery told the BBC: “It’s totally disrespectful. This is the only place we’ve got to remember them. Now what do we have to do? Pay more money to get them back up. What about people who haven’t got the money?”
A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: "We have a legal duty to ensure our cemeteries are safe places for people to pay their respects and for our staff to work in. In June, we started a programme of work to carry out safety inspections in all 10 of the council’s managed cemeteries.
"A decision to lay down a memorial is only taken if they are deemed to present a risk to the public. We understand this is an emotive and sensitive subject but we would like to reassure families that the work is carried out with the greatest respect and sensitivity.
"We always try to contact the last known owner should their headstone need to be repaired but please appreciate this may not always be possible. Our staff are always on hand to provide support and guidance to families so they can get their memorials repaired.”
Who is responsible for a gravestone?
According to Funeral Guide, the responsibility for maintaining a grave lies with whoever owns the deed of grant. This is a document stating the current registered owner of the exclusive right of burial for a grave.
It doesn't mean they own the land itself. Instead, the deed gives them a right to bury their loved one there for a given period of time – normally up to 50 or 100 years.
Some cemeteries may have strict rules about what people are and aren't allowed to do to the graves, and what is expected of them. This may vary depending on the type of burial plot chosen.
For example, most lawn graves will only allow for a headstone with a small flower border immediately next to the memorial so that the surrounding grass can still be mown. Many families choose traditional graves, which may allow them to personalise their entire length and breadth.
Families will be notified by the cemetery owner of any safety issues regarding grave maintenance, but stones and tablets may be laid flat by cemetery staff if they are deemed to be a toppling hazard, Funeral Guide adds.
In the case of public health burials – provided by local councils when no next of kin or friends have been able to make funeral arrangements – No identifying marker may be permitted at all.
