.... Then there others I have found that were deliberately vandalised one night and pushed over by some very stupid bored youths.
Quite a few gravestones are 'pushed over' by a local authority which has decided that they are a hazard under all-pervasive H&S rules.
If they are for you family make a claim against the local authority which had them pushed over, this was deemed illegal by the courts.
The local authority is responsible for re-instating any they have vandalised in this way.
The correct procedure is for them to make the memorial safe by use of a temporary support.
Cheers
Guy
Cheers
Guy
That's interesting, Guy!
Did the Court make this decision in the last few years, as I wasn't aware of it?
The grave where my parents are buried was re-opened 10 years ago to add my sister. One day when I arrived with flowers, I found a notice tied around the headstone about it being unsafe.
When they opened the grave, they left the headstone and plinth tilted on soil that had been dug out. I pointed this out to the cemetery staff and they said that the notice shouldn't have been put there as they could see it was a tended grave. (if it had fallen on me it would have been their fault for leaving it on a tilt anyway!) I had to ask them a further couple if times about more infill because of the ground settling.
It was upsetting at the time, not just for 'our' grave, but for those who had these notices against much older gravestones, with relatives no longer visiting. I know they removed some and laid them against the plinth, but haven't seen any of these notices for the past few years and wonder if it is to do with the ruling?
It is also upsetting when you go to a churchyard and find that they have removed all stones and grassed over entire areas. I think this happened a lot in the 60s and 70s when everything was being modernised, and even historical buildings were demolished without thought.
