Man saddened to find cuttings ‘heaped over’ parents’ graves
A man who made a 185-mile round trip to visit his parents’ graves at Campbeltown’s Kilkerran Cemetery was “saddened” to find their headstone “virtually inaccessible”.
Craig Kelly, 65, who was born and brought up in Campbeltown but now lives in Dunoon, visited the cemetery on Friday March 17, something he does every springtime to check and place flowers at his family’s graves.
But, on this occasion, he found cuttings from bramble and rhododendron bushes “heaped over” the final resting place of his mum Mary and dad William, as well as several adjacent gravestones.
“While I fully understand and am grateful that the surrounding foliage has to be cut back,” he said, “I find it considerably insensitive that the cuttings were not lifted and, instead, were heaped over the gravestones and blocking the path – certainly making it impassable for the elderly and infirm.
“At a time when, traditionally, surviving relatives visit their deceased loved ones’ resting places as we approach a new springtime, I believe clear and safe access should never be denied. At the very least, the cuttings are a trip hazard and constitute a health and safety breach, should relatives wish to clear some kind of way in.”
Mr Kelly, a supervisor at a mine near Tyndrum, said he was able to “clamber over the cuttings” to lay flowers at his parents’ gravestone, but, in the process, he fell and injured his hands on thorns.
He believes those carrying out the work should only have been instructed to cut enough foliage that they could gather and dispose of it at the time, while maintaining access for the public.
He added: “My grievances are not with the workers, as they can often be provided with limited resources to do the tasks required of them.”
Mr Kelly, who used the
Portavadie-Tarbert ferry on his way to Campbeltown but had to drive 115 miles by road to return to Dunoon, added: “Having travelled many miles to pay my own respects to my beloved family, I left saddened to find their final resting place virtually inaccessible to pay my own personal tribute.”
Mr Kelly said there were no cemetery staff visible in the area of the works at the time to whom he could voice his concerns.
A spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council said: “We are extremely sorry to hear about Mr Kelly’s experience while visiting his parents’ grave.
“We were carrying out scheduled maintenance in the cemetery, but unfortunately there were too many cuttings to fit them all in one load for disposal. The excess cuttings were left at the graveside for around one hour while the first load was disposed of.
“This should not have happened and we would like to apologise to Mr Kelly for any upset caused.”