A MEMORIAL company boss says she is furious at the way the council has handled a safety inspection at Radcliffe cemetery.
And relatives flocking to the cemetery after reading about the work have been distressed to see headstones laid flat on the council's orders.
Now they want to know who pays to have them put right!
The inspection was ordered by the Health and Safety Executive which insisted on a check of all headstones after a boy was killed and a woman seriously injured by falling stones in Greater Manchester cemeteries.
But Cath Kennedy of Alan Kennedy Sculptors has borne the brunt of what has been described as the council's "tactless and insenstitive" handling of the affair.
Her business is next door to the cemetery and distressed relatives have been descending on her office.
Mrs Kennedy said: "We were not informed of the council's intentions and were unprepared for the large number of grave-owners coming in to our works very upset and angry at what they thought was vandalism!
"Notification was not posted on the cemetery gates until mid-morning on the Tuesday after the memorials had been laid down the day before.
"People were coming up to the cemetery with flowers for loved one's birthdays and anniversaries only to find devastation. Once again the council has handled a very sensititve issue with no thought or consideration for those involved while at the same time wanting people to believe they are compassionate and sensitive."
Visitors to the cemetery are particularly shocked that so many newer headstones and memorials have been laid down. A council spokesman explained that some may not have been built or installed to precise National Association of Memorial Masons guidelines
But this has left Mrs Kennedy particularly mad. She said: "I feel this implied that stonemasons are partly to blame for this mass destruction to graves in Radcliffe cemetery.
"As a stone mason situated outside the cemetery, we take our responsiblity very seriously in ensuring memorials are erected professionally and safely but cannot be held responsible for memorials decades later."
One visitor to the cemetery said: "We'd been warned about the state of the cemetery but I couldn't believe it when we arrived -- it looked just like vandals had been in.
"It was so upsetting. I regularly visit the cemetery and tidy up three graves. It's getting harder as I get older, but I like to make sure they always look their best. I just can't believe what the council has done to them."
And Debra Dixon, whose father Jack Kay was buried last August, said: "There was absolutely nothing wrong with our memorial. It was virtually brand new so it can't have been unsafe.
"But whoever laid it down has cracked the side of it -- I'm absolutely furious with the council. They have been completely tactless and insensitive to anyone's feelings.
"My mum was distraught when she saw what had happened to our memorial."
The council's head of parks and countryside Mr Neil Long said the council had been ordered to carry out the safety work. Council officers were trained to identify potentially dangerous headstones and memorials and then outside contractors were brought in to carry out the work.
Letters were being sent to relatives, where known, explaining the situation and cards had been placed on every flattened headstone with a council helpline phone number.
Said Mr Long: "The council is dealing with this in as sympathetic and compassionate a way as we can and we are very sensitive to people's feelings."
He said letters had not been sent out prior to headstones being laid down because the council did not want to cause any unnecessary distress to families whose headstones passed the safety inspection.
He added that the inspectors were using "very light pressure" to test the headstones, but some were incredibly heavy and could easily fall under their own weight.
It was unfortunate that there was one area of Radcliffe cemetery where a large number of headstones had been laid down -- fewer unsafe memorials are being found in the rest of the cemetery, said Mr Long.
The council has still not settled who will pay for the re-setting of the memorial stones.
Said Mr Long: "We have been ordered to do this work by the end of May so that is our priority. We will sort out the costs involved later."
The council will be required to carry out regular five-year inspections after May.
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