Toys to be removed from babies’ graves over safety fears

Toys left by grieving parents next to the graves of babies are due to be removed for health and safety reasons in case they get caught in grass-cutting machinery and cause injury.

Last month, families were told in a letter from the local council in Aberdeen that they should remove items such as cuddly toys left on the grass in the city’s Hazlehead Cemetery.

Parents launched a petition signed by more than 1,000 people, but the deadline for taking away the toys passed on Sunday. One parent, Natalie Laing, 28, told the Evening Express: “I go up there all the time to light candles. It helps me deal with it and it also helps my other children.”

A council spokesman said: “We will not move items from the graves until we have met parents who wanted to speak to officers in person about this.”