Anger as grave stones left lying flat
Families say they have had to pay hundreds of pounds to repair gravestones toppled for safety reasons.
Memorial stones in the cemetery of St Bartholomew's Church, based on Church Hill, Penn, have been laid on their backs and in some cases dismantled.
The work was carried out before Christmas last year. Nothing has been done to rectify the stones that were originally moved, meaning that relatives have had to pay to put their own stones right.
John Farrugia, 71 and his wife Janet, 62, first visited the dismantled graves of Janet's maternal and paternal grandparents just before Christmas last year.
Mrs Farrugia said: "My aunt, who is in her 80s, visited first just before Christmas and told me to prepare myself for a shock. When we got there, I just burst into tears."
Since then, nothing has been done to put the stones back in their former place and the family says it is not satisfied with the response from the church.
Mr Farrugia said: "When we first got there and complained, we were told it was because of rabbits and other wildlife. Then the second time we said it was to protect the health and safety of children. Now, we have employed our own funeral directors and stone masons to rectify the situation, which is costing us around £1,000."
According to experts, free standing gravestones can be maintained through placing a stake behind the stone and placing a band around the top. The process, called banding, is a measure often used by memorial experts to keep a gravestone standing and in tact.
Graveyard operators are advised to carry out a five-step approach suggested by the Health and Safety Executive for their risk assessment of gravestones prior to altering them. This includes 'identifying the hazard, identifying who might be harmed and how'. They're also asked to 'evaluate the risk of a memorial falling and harming someone, and decide on the precautions needed to control this risk, record the significant findings and review them'.
In 2011 about 5,000 graves in Wolverhampton were 'topple tested', a process where gravestones are checked for sturdiness. Subsequent repairs on 69 cost the city council £9,000.
St Bartholomew's Church says no more gravestones have been toppled in the last six months and those affected have been left lying flat.
It previously apologised for any distress caused, but said there was increasing concern about the safety of some stones which had become unstable and posed a risk.
