Anger as Wednesfield graves are attacked by vandals

The cemetery in Memory Lane, Wednesfield, has not been used for burials since the 1980s and has continued to fall into disrepair, despite efforts by Wolverhampton City Council to keep it maintained.

Steven Harris, an amateur historian who grew up in Ashmore Park, rediscovered the graveyard in a terrible state after dropping off a friend at nearby New Cross Hospital.

The graveyard is the resting place of some of the city's influential sons and daughters, including Joseph Stephens, who formed the AJS Motorcycles firm in Wednesfield in the 1850s.

Father-of-two Mr Harris, aged 59, said: "I was disgusted at what I found.

"Headstones were smashed and graves kicked in, some of which belong to families whose names appear on local streets."

The self-employed IT technician, who has family buried at the site, said: "I was so shocked to see so much damage it's unbelievable.

"It's really quite upsetting. Both my great grandfather and brother is buried there along with a lot of the people who made Wednesfield and Wolverhampton what it is."

Mr Harris, who now lives in Bushbury, added: "The council should really be preserving it by making it more secure."

Rev Nick Watson is vicar at St Thomas's in Wednesfield, which used to be responsible for burials at the site.

He said it wasn't the first time the site had been the victim of vandals, but pointed out that some of the graves may not have been damaged intentionally but were more likely to be the result of ground subsidence.

He added: "When I first came here four years ago we had a lot of problems with vandalism and damage and since then Wolverhampton council have done what they can."

Councillor for Wednesfield South Matthew Holdcroft knows the site well from his former work in the burials department at Wolverhampton City Council, he said: "Sadly this churchyard has been in quite a pitiful state of repair for quite some time.

"It's always sad when something like this happens to graves.

"It's definitely a site that's worth looking into preserving, especially considering the heritage of some of those buried there."

Mel Ryan spokeswoman for Wolverhampton City Council action would be taken.

She said: "Now that both the church and the council have been made aware of the vandalism, we intend to inspect the area before deciding what needs to be done."