A COUNCIL officer who was sacked following an investigation into damaged gravestones in a Padiham cemetery has been reinstated.

Lee Thorne, Burnley Council's bereavement and customer services manager, won his appeal against the council's decision to dismiss him and has been back at work in the parks department for about two weeks.

He was suspended on full pay in May following allegations that headstones were knocked down and smashed in St Leonard's Cemetery.

An investigation was launched by the parks services unit after it was revealed that several headstones on graves in the churchyard, which is maintained by the council on behalf of the church, had been knocked down.

Mr Thorne was sacked from his job in June as a result of the investigation into what was described as an alleged breach of health and safety regulations.

A council spokesman confirmed that he was now back at work but would not comment any further on the issue. He said: "As a result of an appeal the employee was reinstated and has returned to work."

A spokeswoman from Mr Thorne's union, Unison, which represented him at his appeal, said: "We are pleased that he has won his case on appeal and that he is now back at work."

The Reverend Mark Jones, vicar of St Leonard's, said he was aware that Mr Thorne had been reinstated but said he did not want to make any further comment.

At the time he described the incident as 'regrettable' and said the council had promised that the stones that were the subject of the investigation would be replaced, although they were quite old and probably didn't have living relatives.