Family left horrified by cemetery safety work
CEMETERIES throughout Neath Port Talbot have had headstones transformed into what families are describing as something “straight out of a horror film”.
The work is down to new health and safety legislation around memorial inspection regimes being undertaken by authorities across Wales after several deaths caused by collapsing headstones.
However, families of lost loved ones have criticised what they claim is poor communication from the council, and questioned the safety checks, with some describing it as “vandalism”.
Kerry Morgan, of Briton Ferry, said he was “devastated” when he received a phone call from a friend advising him to visit his daughter’s grave at Llantwit Cemetery in Neath.
The 64-year-old had felt unable to visit his daughter’s grave for more than 20 years after she was killed. Sian Morgan was just 18 when she died, leaving behind a family who are still mourning her loss to this day. She also left a baby, Catrin, who now lives with her grandparents.
Upon visiting her grave, Kerry Morgan said he was “horrified” to discover that her headstone had been removed and placed on nearby grass in what he initially believed was vandalism.
“I’ve never been able to visit her grave, for obvious reasons, it was just too upsetting,” he explained. “When I had a phone call about it, I just had to see for myself, I had no choice.”
Having contacted the cemetery, it emerged it was Neath Port Talbot Council which had carried out the work on “safety grounds”.
Mr Morgan inquired why neither he nor his family were contacted regarding the headstone, to which he was told the council had sent a letter to his previous home address.
Having not lived at the location for more than 20 years, he argued there had been “poor communication” from the council that had caused “major upset” to his family.
“It’s devastating for our whole family,” he said, “and we’re not the only ones affected by it, other families have also been left in the same situation.”
The work done to Sian’s headstone, and many others in the area, is said to be down to new legislation brought in by the UK Government following the deaths of six people due to unsafe graves.
A spokesperson for Neath Port Talbot Council said: “Councils across Wales and the rest of the UK, in line with health and safety legislation, have introduced memorial inspection regimes following the deaths of six people due to unsafe graves.
“The deaths included that of eightyear-old Ciaran Williamson, crushed by a 7ft gravestone in Glasgow, with a fatal accident inquiry ruling his death could have been avoided had a regime of safety checks been in place.
“Unsafe memorials may have warning notices attached to them, be cordoned off, supported by stakes, or laid flat on the ground. We accept these temporary measures can look unsightly but we are going through the process of contacting families to address the safety issues.”
However, Mr Morgan and his family claimed the work being done was not appropriate and families were being left in the dark.
“We’re having to hire a stonemason to repair the damage but they highlighted to us that the safety work being done should be done by structural engineers with a gravestone licence.
“What we believe is happening, and what we have heard, is that council workers are just going around shaking gravestones to see if they come loose, it’s ridiculous”
“People in the community are concerned by the sight of what’s happening and many are disputing it with the council. We just want nobody else to have the distress that’s been caused to our family.”