A woman whose family members are buried in a Birmingham cemetery has blasted the local council for "vandalising" and "desecrating" her partner's grave.
Tracey Kelly, 58, has been tending her father's grave in Sutton New Hall Cemetery for 18 years as well as her partner's, who died suddenly, for the last two. But she was left horrified when she attended the graves last week (April 8) to find her partner's grave was bare, with grass ripped up and soil exposed - which she claims was due to maintenance staff using the "wrong" type of lawnmower.
She claimed contractors who cut the grass used a ride-on instead of a smaller hand-pushed mower, with the "top grass sliced off exposing the soil beneath." Birmingham City Council has apologised for the upset caused and said it will work to make sure it remains an "isolated incident".
Tracey said she had been visiting the cemetery for 18 years and it had "never happened before". "I had already been tending a grave at New Hall cemetery, my father's since 2006," she told BirminghamLive. "I had bought the plot next to it for myself. Then my partner passed very suddenly aged 58 so he's buried there. The council used to turf the graves, they turfed my father's. But the last couple of years I have been seeding the grave."
Tracey Kelly has tended to spots at the cemetery for 18 years (BPM Media)She slammed the people responsible as "thoughtless idiots" after the grave she "spent months perfecting" was "desecrated". She said the ride on mowers were "so heavy they also left skids and ruts from tyres." Kelly added: "They used to use petrol lawnmowers - the ones you'd have at home. My partner’s grave is slightly raised but there are different types there. The posh graves have kerbstones around them.
Ex-Premier League star, 39, declared bankrupt after racking up £1m debts
"But most of the graves have a headstone in a line. They then went along with a lawnmower to cut them. A normal lawnmower can cope with rises in the surface. But this time the contractors have been using ride-on lawnmowers. They are great for fields that are flat but not suitable for graves."
She spotted the ride-on mowers being used at the site, adding: "They are such a big machine. The wheels sink into the grass which then shows ruts. This is desecration. They are using the wrong equipment for the situation. I spoke to someone at the cemetery who said they would seed the area. But I said if you use the large lawnmowers to cut the grass it will happen again. I don’t expect a perfect lawn like a stately home. But what I expect is for the grass to be left and not taken off."
Conservative councillor for Sutton Reddicap Richard Parkin said he had received another message from a resident who was "extremely upset" about what had happened at the cemetery. “I contacted the cemetery guy there about the issue. And colleagues have contacted Cllr Nicki Brennan (Sparkhill, Lab - cabinet member for social justice, community safety and equalities) and asked her to look into it. There’s obviously an issue there. The lady who contacted me was upset and angry."
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council told the outlet: "Our cutting schedule at New Hall Cemetery restarted in early April. Therefore, this will have been the first cut for some areas. We monitor the burial sections after each cut to ensure that the required standards are met, and take action to rectify any issues where required. Reports of damage to graves from ride on mowers is extremely rare.
"In addition to strimming, this is the only method used to cut the grass around lawn-style graves, and this has not changed in recent years. Due to the size of Birmingham City Council cemeteries it is not possible to mow all burial sections with manually-operated mowers.
"The recent weather conditions, which have seen a mix of sunshine and rainfall, have resulted in the grass growing significantly while areas remain wet, which we believe has contributed to the reported issue. The rectification works have commenced on the affected graves and will be monitored over the coming weeks to ensure that the presentation of graves is reinstated to the expected standard."
"We would like to apologise for the upset caused to visitors to New Hall Cemetery following recent maintenance. We will continue to monitor all cutting schedules moving forward and work collaboratively with the grounds maintenance teams to ensure this is an isolated incident and Sutton New Hall Cemetery remains well maintained," a council spokesperson told The Mirror.
"In the event that visitors are dissatisfied with the presentation of graves, we would advise contacting the Cemetery Office directly via Bereavement.Services@Birmingham.gov.uk with pictures and information. Then the Bereavement Officer can investigate immediately and rectify where possible."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
