Overgrown Wolverhampton cemetery branded a disgrace

Families are disappointed with the state of Memory Lane Cemetery, Graiseley Lane, in Wednesfield.

Mother-of-one Kathy Allen, aged 61 from Tithe Road, regularly visits the cemetery to attend the graves of loved ones including her mother, father, brother and grandparents.

"The grass is so long you can't see any of the graves," she said. "It is a damn disgrace, the people who are responsible for this should be ashamed. It is disrespectful.

"I know of some people who can't actually get to the graves of their loved ones because the grass is so long all over the entire cemetery. How is this acceptable?

"When I saw it last I was really annoyed by it. People could trip over the grass because it is so long."

The cemetery, which is situated near St Thomas's Church, has in the region of 200 graves but has been closed for burials since the 1980s. Wednesfield North councillor Phil Bateman has now got in touch with Wolverhampton City Council to get the site tidied up.

Rev Nick Watson from St Thomas' Church said: "It's the first time I've heard of complaints about it this year but I remember there were many complaints about five or six years ago.

"The council are under many financial difficulties so I do have some sympathy for them."

Councillor Bateman said the city council had vowed to look into the problem as soon as possible, with the grass scheduled to be cut as soon as the end of this week.

A letter to the councillor from the local authority reads: "Once we have got over the current fast grass growing conditions, we will endeavour to apply some chemical control to aid with the maintenance on difficult sites like this."