Our loved ones’ graves desecrated...in name of health and safety
Council blunder sees 400 headstones knocked flat
GRIEVING families were left ‘horrified’ after more than 400 gravestones were toppled by blundering council chiefs.
Orkney Islands Council ordered a health and safety probe into graveyards last year following the death of a young boy in a tragic accident.
Eight-year-old Ciaran Williamson was killed when a headstone fell on him in Glasgow in 2015.
Following the review on Orkney, a number of older headstones were earmarked to be laid flat, the majority of which were so old that relatives would be almost impossible to track down.
However, due to an error, more than double the number of headstones were toppled by council workers than planned.
These included many recent graves, causing fresh heartache for grieving families who were not told of the move.
Orkney Islands Council’s own investigation reported ‘significant weaknesses’ in the way it had dealt with the issue and the heartbreak it caused for relatives.
Before the programme was halted in February, 431 headstones had been laid flat. The council is not yet able to say exactly how much it will cost to repair all the damage.
Stewart Spence, of Finstown, whose father Peter passed away 32 years ago, was shocked when he found his headstone had been taken down.
The 52-year-old said: ‘I was horrified. Any time we’ve been to see my father’s gravestone it’s been bonny and standing upright. There was absolutely no concern whatsoever that it was going to fall over.
‘I was lost for words when I found out. I was flabbergasted.’
The council’s internal investigation found that ‘many of the public were not aware of the works and the objectives of what was going on’.
Last year, a note passed between officials admitted the error, stating: ‘More headstones have been laid down than had been expected.’
In February, council convener Harvey Johnston and then chief executive Alistair Buchan apologised and promised that some of the toppled memorials would be reinstated with no cost to families.
A spokesman said: ‘Training events were held in Orkney in July to bolster the availability of council staff and local construction firms trained in the inspection, maintenance and repair of headstones in the county.
‘The provision of the training has allowed the council to work with two local contractors to speed up the process of reinstating the stones laid down last year.’
‘I was lost for words’