SIXTY years after they were sacrificed for the war effort, Hindley cemetery has got its iron railings back.

Regular vandalism to the headstones in the 120-year-old graveyard persuaded town councillors that security had to be upgraded.

The plan was originally sparked off by a fascinating discovery of abandoned 150 year old graves at Bridge Street that once belonged to the former Bridgecroft Congregational Church.

Councillors agreed to spend part of their Brighter Borough allocation on a £4,370 scheme to install nineteen sections of new metal railings on the stone boundary wall at the front of the cemetery in Castle Hill Road.

Land was tidied, graves renovated, and the councillors' Brighter Borough money was used to reinstall railings salvaged in a wartime quest for metal.

Cllr Stuart Shaw explained: "This was part of Hindley's history, and I and my ward colleagues were delighted to be able to preserve the area. However it set us thinking that maybe railings would be the answer to some of the problems we had been having at the main cemetery.

"The scheme has certainly made the front of the cemetery look more like it used to before the metal was melted down for the war effort. Hopefully it will also help deter vandals who try to get in after dark so people who go to visit the graves of their loved ones don't have the heartbreak of finding the area damaged."

Cemeteries chief Tony Bassett said: "Speaking to visitors to the cemetery, it's clear that the railings have been well received, and we must thank the councillors for making it possible."