SIX FEET BLUNDER
Distraught son visiting beloved parents’ grave is horrified to find council workers have dug it up
A SON visited his parents’ grave – only to discover it had been dug up.
David Manners was shocked to find the lair had apparently been opened for another burial. But David said his grief turned to anger when disrespectful workers claimed the ground
had simply collapsed while another grave was being dug.
He said: “When you put your loved ones in their final resting place, that’s exactly what it should be. You shouldn’t have to turn up and wonder what’s been going on.”
David regularly visits his mum and dad’s spot at Lambhill Cemetery, in north Glasgow.
Since his mum Ellen passed away in January last year after a battle with cancer, he and other family members have increased their visits to the cemetery to pay their respects.
The grave has always been well-tended since his dad, known affectionately as Wullie, died in a building site accident in 1990.
But on his most recent visit at the weekend, he was stunned to find the grave looked as if it had been opened for another burial.
David, who lives in the Royston area of the city, said: “I was shocked and confused. At first I thought they may have buried someone in the wrong grave. I noticed there had been a burial in the next plot.
“I thought the gravediggers must have made a mistake and excavated the wrong plot. I was stunned. My son was with me and I couldn’t even talk to him.”
The 43-year-old who works as an estate caretaker with a housing association, claimed insult was added to injury when he was fobbed off by a cemetery grounds worker when he tried to make inquiries into what had happened.
Staff who had been working elsewhere in the grounds drove up in a truck.
The father of four spoke to one of them, asking why and how they had managed to dig up his parents’ grave.
David said: “He told me they had been digging the grave next to it when it had collapsed.
“I explained that I was responsible for a lot of landscaping work and it didn’t look like a collapse, the shape that had been dug out was a perfect rectangle. I was so angry I had to walk away. “I then managed to get hold of a mini-digger operative and asked if he was responsible for digging up the plot. “He sympathised and agreed that it looked as if it had been excavated. He advised me to contact the main office.” After taking pictures of the state the plot had been left in, David spoke to his siblings and other family members. He added: “My mum visited my dad’s grave religiously for 25 years, so I’m glad this didn’t happen when she was alive. She would have been distraught.”
Lynn Manners took to social media where she posted photos and said: “My head is doing overtime wondering if there has been any damage to mum’s coffin.”
David added: “I know mistakes can and do happen but it’s how you deal with them that makes the difference.
“If anything goes wrong they should be informed.
“If the first person I had spoken to had been apologetic and sympathetic then we may have been a bit more understanding.
“They could at least have put some new turf down in an attempt to repair the damage but all they have done is left it in a mess.”
Lynn said: “I feel as if I’ve been punched in the heart. It’s taken me back to when we lost mum last year. The grave might just be a number to those working there but that’s my mum and dad. It’s sheer incompetence.”
A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “Our bereavement services manager has spoken to Mr Manners and apologised for any upset caused and for the manner in which his concerns were addressed.
“The exact circumstances of this incident will be the subject of an internal investigation. However, we did not dig the wrong grave.”