Gravestones were damaged by the weather
It has been revealed this week that damage to gravestones in Westburn Cemetery was caused by the weather, rather than yobs.
The Reformer was contacted by several anxious local residents last week, who had gone to the cemetery to pay respects to their relatives, when they found that several gravestones had been damaged.
They immediately asked MP Tom Greatrex to join them to survey the damage, believing that the vandals who had previously struck at the graveyard had returned to wreak more havoc.
However, South Lanarkshire Council staff have carried out a full investigation, and now believe that the damage had been caused by the weather conditions, rather than yobs.
Cambuslang East SNP councillor Christine Deanie said: “Like everyone else, when I saw about the damage, I was as sickened and upset as everyone else.
“With the history of vandalism in the graveyard, it’s very easy to see why anyone seeing damage there would think that was the cause of it.
“However, the council have looked further into the damage, and it has definitely not been vandals who caused it, and the police have had no reports about this.
“It seems that the damage there has been as a result of the weather, rather than individuals pushing over gravestones.
“The graveyard staff at Westburn do a tremendous job of tending the plots there, and deserve full credit for all the work that they do, ensuring that when people are having the difficul t job of going to the cemetery, their visit is as pleasant as possible.
“They always look after the site, and deserve a lot of credit.”
Christine’s Cambuslang West counterpart Clare McColl has said people should consider insuring gravestones and also suggested creating a ‘Cemetery Sunday’ group to go out four times a year and tend to graves with no family to look after them.
Andrew Brown, whose mum and brother are buried in Westburn, tried to organise a clear-up operation last week, but the council beat him too it.
However, he’s determined to continue the fight to keep the cemetery clean.
He suggested a group to keep the graveyard in good condition, something that prompted a good response on the Facebook group, All About Cambuslang.