Dewsbury Cemetery '˜looks like a construction site'

A man who visits his mother's grave every day has criticised the '˜diabolical' churned-up state of grass at Dewsbury Cemetery.
Mess: Vahida Birader at Dewsbury Cemetery where large, muddy tyre tracks have been left.Mess: Vahida Birader at Dewsbury Cemetery where large, muddy tyre tracks have been left.
Mess: Vahida Birader at Dewsbury Cemetery where large, muddy tyre tracks have been left.

Siddiq Birader said the machines used to dig graves were leaving huge muddy tyre tracks in the cemetery that had become troughs.

The state of the cemetery left him distressed and he said the surfaces were not in a fitting and respectable condition to hold burials.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “I was at a funeral and it was absolute chaos. They were trying to bury someone and people were covered in mud and could barely walk.

“The situation is not getting any better and it will only get worse and worse.

“I sympathise with the workers because it is a hard job but if they don’t have the tools it will end up this way.”

His sister-in-law Vahida Birader said: “It is diabolical – it looks like a construction site or a plough field.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It is so, so muddy and really just not acceptable at all. It’s all over the place and it is getting worse as time is going on.

“I think they need to implement a better system or method of digging the graves.

“The way they do it at the moment is really dangerous for people visiting their loved ones. It is not within the grass area and they are trailing all over the place, not using a set path.”

A Kirklees Council spokeswoman said: “The condition of the ground at the cemetery was affected by a burst tap which led to a large amount of surface water on ground that we needed to cross in order to prepare graves.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Whilst we attempted to limit damage by putting down sheeting – the movement still left the ground in poor condition.

“Repair work has been carried out and whilst this is not a normal occurrence - we are looking at options to prevent this happening in future.

“We acknowledge that the condition of the ground could have been distressing for those visiting, as such we would like to extend our apologies for any upset caused by this situation.”

Concerns have recently been raised over a council policy of laying headstones flat if they are deemed to be unsafe without surviving family members being contacted.

Related topics: