Graves issue “absolutely overzealous and ridiculous”
Last week, we reported that a number of gravestones had been laid over following a diocese five-year inspection, leaving the church with no option but to try and track down relatives of the deceased.
At the latest Strategy, Policy and Development Meeting, Chair, Cllr Alison Davies, explained that it was not a decision for the church, and councillors sympathised with the vicar, but several were fuming.
Cllr Phil Pritchard, who has relatives buried in the church yard, said: “It is absolutely abysmal. They have knocked them all down. It looks like a bomb site.”
Cllr Billy Spencer added: “I have also been disgusted and spoke to the vicar but it is not St Mary’s fault.”
Cllr Howells explained that he was a health and safety professional for over 30 years, and said: “I find the whole thing about these graveyard inspections absolutely overzealous and ridiculous.
“When you look at the statistics of the last 20 years, how many people have been injured by a gravestone falling on them? I think it is really over the top.”
But Town Clerk, Anne Wilson, explained that she was aware of two deaths caused by gravestones.
MyWelshpool fact checked and found that an eight-year-old boy was tragically killed by a gravestone in Glasgow in 2015. There is another record online of a 74-year-old man in the USA being killed by his mother-in-law’s gravestone in the same year.
Cllr Davies explained: “The diocese has done a review of each gravestone by rocking it. If it moves at all, they are required to lie it down. They have also notified family as far as they can, but they are seeking the relatives of people who own these and asking them to contact them.”
The church has published a list of families on its Facebook page that they are trying to track down to ensure that the gravestones can be put back in place safely.
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