A MAN whose grandparents are buried in Darwen Old Cemetery has hit out at officials for making the area look like a 'war zone'.

David Stemp, 62, originally from Darwen but now living in Surrey, said he was horrified at the destruction' at the Bolton Road cemetery when he visited William and Mary Peters' grave.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has been carrying out testing on all headstones in their graveyards and cemeteries.

The Government has 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 during the testing, it is deemed unsafe and the council must take immediate action to eliminate the danger - in this case, laying the headstones down.

Mr Stemp said: "Although I haven't lived in Darwen for over 60 years I still visit my brother once a year and have a great affection for the area.

"When I visited my grandfather's grave in the Old Cemetery 18 months ago I was horrified to find out what the local council had done in the name of health and safety.

"The side stones had been removed and there was a notice on the grave which said we weren't allowed to move the stones, but had to contact the council.

"We did that straight away and were told that we would be contacted later. This never happened and now the stone has been laid down without us even being told.

"Of course a lot of contact details for old graves will have been lost, but they definitely had ours and did nothing."

He added: "My grandfather was a true gentleman who purchased the rights to the grave for £6 10s, in 1938, when his wife died. He was not a wealthy man. He lived in a small terrace house in Hollins Grove Street and had worked at the gas works for most of his working life.

"When his wife died he spent £46 5s on purchasing the best memorial he could afford for his wife - I'm sure this would have been enough to buy a car in those days.

"He can't possibly have thought that when he purchased this grave, it would be desecrated within 70 years in the name of health and safety.

"They have defiled my grandfather's memory - it looks more like war zone than a graveyard."

Coun Dave Smith, who represents Sunnyhurst ward said: "Yes, it does look a mess and it will come as a shock to some people, but the work has to be done."

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 contact all families."