HUNDREDS of bereaved relatives face costly repair bills after more than 400 headstones were branded a health and safety risk.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has been accused of "going over the top" and acting insensitively following checks by inspectors at Pleasington Cemetery.

Council bosses said that their actions were following standard procedures used nationwide and that they always tried to inform families.

But other councils in East Lancashire which have carried out the inspections at their cemeteries did not uncover as many "unstable" headstones.

A stonemason has claimed that the scale of the problems found at Pleasington Crematorium may have been caused by poor' quality cement bases which he said were provided by the cemetery.

The inspection programme was introduced after the Government advised all councils to check headstones following a number of accidents in different parts of the country.

Pressure of 35kg is applied - the force exerted by a person to pull themselves up from kneeling at the graveside - using an industry specific tool known as a "Topple Tester".

If the headstone moves at any point of the testing, it is unsafe and the council must take immediate action to eliminate the danger.

Inspectors spent six weeks carrying out their checks three months ago and the full extent of their findings is now being revealed.

Around 400 headstones have had thin black straps attached to them with stickers branding them a health and safety risk. In some cases, wooden stakes have been drilled into the ground behind them for support.

A 2ft memorial to Norman and Jean Duckworth's son Andrew, who died aged 17 in 1981 from the muscle-wasting disease, is one of those branded unsafe.

The couple, of Cornwall Avenue, Knuzden, said the repair bill is £400.

Mrs Duckworth, 69, said: "We want to know why we hadn't been informed. We go every fortnight, but some people only go on anniversaries and special times of the year, and they won't have a clue what is going on."

Mr Duckworth, 74, who worked for the council maintaining parks for 20 years, said: "It's only 2ft tall. How can that be a health and safety issue?"

Eileen Eastham, from Darwen, said she was distressed to find her husband Robert Eastham's 13-year-old gravestone with stickers and straps attached to it at the cemetery.

She said: "I had no warning and wondered what on earth had happened.

"I've been told it will cost at least £300 to repair which I can ill afford."

Brent Stevenson, owner of Brent Stevenson Memorials in Preston Old Road, Blackburn, said they were being inundated with people wanting headstones repaired.

He said: "It's actually ironic that the main problem is the cement joint at the bottom of the headstones failing. This was supplied by the cemetary but wasn't deep enough and didn't have good enough bonding.

"In the last 10 years six people have been killed by headstones falling over, but these have all been to do with vandalism. Never has a headstone collapsed of its own accord and killed anyone."

Coun Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration for the council, said: "We make every effort to contact the person who bought the grave if the details are less than 30 years old. Unfortunately, due to the volume of graves involved at the moment, we haven't been able to make contact with all the families.

"We would advise anyone visiting a loved ones grave and who finds a sticker has been placed on the headstone, not to touch it but to speak to a member for cemetery staff."