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Council leave tyre marks and knock over gravestones digging new plots | UK News


Mourners had to remove tributes for the heavy machinery to drive over (Picture: SWNS)

A council are driving diggers over graves to dig new plots, knocking down gravestones and forcing mourners to remove tributes.

Sharna Andrews, from, Gloucester, was told the colourful fence she put up around her seven-year-old son’s grave had to be removed to allow heavy machinery to drive over.

She and her daughter Zofia, now eight, hand-painted a wooden fence in rainbow colours to place around Harry-Lee Andrews-Tomlinson’s grave.

He died after suffering an asthma attack in February 2022.

Sharna, a support worker from Tredworth, Gloucestershire, vowed to ‘fight’ to save the fencing at Gloucester Cemeteries and Crematorium.

Councillor Alastair Chambers told Gloucester City Council he had ‘photo after photo of heavy machinery crossing family members’ bodies’.

He urged the council to make sure works were carried out ‘respecting the dead’.

‘That is the real reason. Planning and organisation at this crematorium should be in such a way that respect is given to the dead,’ he said.

Harry-Lee Andrews-Tomlinson and his mother Sharna Andrews (Picture: Katie Colley/SWNS)

No respect for dead? as diggers driven over graves in city cemetery Mini diggers and heavy machinery are being driven over people?s graves in a city?s cemetery. The shocking activity is happening regularly at the site in the Coney Hill area of Gloucester because new plots have to be dug for the dead. The issue sparked an emotional debate in the city earlier this month. Sharna Andrews, a local mum, had been told that the colourful fence which surrounds her late son?s grave had to be removed as it did not comply with the rules. But city councillors called on council bosses to have a re-think. Now Councillor Alastair Chambers has said the real reason Gloucester City Council wants such fences removed from people?s graves is because workers drive over them. He told a council meeting that he had ?photo after photo of heavy machinery crossing family members? bodies.? ?That is the real reason. Planning and organisation at this crematorium should be in such a way that respect is given to the dead,? he said. He also said there were several health and safety risks across the site, such as knocked over gravestones, bollards and two-foot deep holes. ?Metal bollards and reinforced plastic bollards are thrown and littered around,? he said. ?There are holes where the bollards have come out some two to three feet deep. Someone could break their ankle. ?Several of these posts are thrown under benches. And there are even bollards turfed on people?s graves,? he added. He said the managers at Gloucester Cemetery and Crematorium agreed the rules were not fit for purpose. He added: ?The rules are not fair nor accurate. The excuse from the council is that they (relatives) signed at burial. ?You?re giving a list of rules and regulations for parents to sign the day they buried their child. And then enforcing these rules by giving them a letter saying if they do not remove them (certain items) in 14 days, their graves will be stripped.? Council chiefs said the team at the cemetery work to support the bereaved tirelessly. The authority?s deputy leader, Councillor Hannah Norman, confirmed mini diggers need to drive over some of the graves and said therefore graves need a stonemason-approved kerb set. She said: ?As the cemetery is not operated on a just-in-time burial process, residents can purchase graves in advance which need to be accessed when a burial needs to be completed. ?This means the mini digger does have to be moved in short notice to dig or reopen graves. ?Unfortunately, there is no way to undertake this task without the digger, especially with the hardness of the ground on site. ?Movement of the digger can mean that graves which do not have a stonemason-approved kerb set can be damaged if they use a different edging. ?Unfortunately, the grounds team do not have the capacity to move wooden, plastic or metal edgings prior to operating the digger and placing it back afterwards. ?Use of the digger next to such edging is highly likely to cause damage and cause further upset to the families. ?This is absolutely something the council is highly motivated to avoid.? A review of cemetery rules and regulations has been agreed by the council.

Tyre marks have been left by the graves

He added there were several health and safety issues due to knocked over head stones, bollards and two-feet deep holes.

‘Metal bollards and reinforced plastic bollards are thrown and littered around,’ he said.

‘There are holes where the bollards have come out some two to three feet deep. Someone could break their ankle.

‘Several of these posts are thrown under benches. And there are even bollards turfed on people’s graves,’ he added.

Councillors voted unanimously to approve the amended motion and carry out a review of its rules.

Harry-Lee Andrews-Tomlinson died after suffering an asthma attack in February 2022 (Picture: Sharna Andrews/SWNS)

Sharna said: ‘In the meeting it was so overwhelming and emotional – I did have a little cry.

‘It took me a few minutes to process that they actually agreed to look at the rules and regulations.

‘It’s been very emotional, it was unfair that I was put in that position before when I still haven’t come to terms with the death of my son and I hope I’m never in that position again.

‘It’s just a waiting game for the review now but it’s the start of the beginning and hopefully it ends the right way.’

At the meeting, deputy leader Hannah Norman said that while the review is underway the deed holders who have received letters to make changes will not have any legal action taken against them.

Sharna said: ‘There’s no words to describe the way I’m feeling now.

‘I’m very thankful they took the rules into consideration – and I hope when they assess the rules and regulations they think of the impact on the families.

‘In the meantime we can do what we want with his grave.

‘We can decorate it for Christmas – Harry-Lee loved getting involved in decorating, especially at Christmas.

‘Now he can’t do that with us, we’re taking the decorations to him. Just because he’s gone doesn’t mean everything he liked should be gone with him.

‘When we used to get the tree up he’d be so excited to help put the lights on.’

Gloucester City Council has been contacted for comment.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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