Family forced to tidy baby son's grave
A mother says her family was forced to step in and clean up the grave of her six-month-old son because the council left it to become overgrown at a Black Country cemetery.
Carol Keenan says grass had started to cover the stone laid for Jamie Johnson at Bloxwich cemetery and she was left to tidy it up with her help from her partner.
She has criticised Walsall Council whose officials say the site was not neglected but staff were unable to get to the main memorial because of fencing put around it.
Mrs Keenan, who had her son 29 years ago, said: "My sister went to visit my son's grave and saw that it was completely overgrown. I think it is absolutely disgusting of the council to leave it to get in such a state.
"They say they could not cut the grass because of the fence we have put around the grave but I told them they could take that down to do it and they still didn't.
"I hadn't visited Jamie's grave in a year until this week due to health problems but when I saw it I couldn't believe my eyes."
The 46-year-old, who has now had another three children, previously lived in Green Lane but moved to Stoke-on-Trent many years ago.
She recently tended to the grave of her son, who died of cot death, and cut the grass and laid down slate chippings.
She says she will be 'monitoring' the council's maintenance from now on.
She added: "I grieve every day for my son and each day it is supposed to get easier but for me it gets harder and this has only made things worse.
"I was only 17 when I had Jamie and I never fully came to terms with his death but this whole situation has made me so unwell.
"I want the council to keep an eye on the grave from now on and treat my baby like he should be treated and I will be monitoring them."
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Steve Billings, bereavement and registration services manager, said the grave has been maintained at exactly the same level as others inside the cemetery.
He added: "Council officers have been cutting the grass as close as they can to the plastic fencing that the family have installed around the grave without damaging it.
"If, however, they are referring to an area that they have created which is covered with slate chippings we cannot access that section without causing damage which we understandably do not want to do."
