A PENSIONER has spoken of her anger caused by discovering she has to have a gravestone that is only five years old repaired following safety inspections in Kidderminster's town cemetery.

The checks were announced by Wyre Forest District Council in January and have been carried out under the Health and Safety Act to ensure gravestones are made safe.

Ann Zamur, of Birmingham Road, visited her late husband, Henry's, grave on Thursday, July 14 and found a strap across the front of the headstone.

She later discovered the grave was considered unsafe but there was nothing to say what Mrs Zamur needed to do to solve the problem.

She said: "I just want to know what is going on and what I am supposed to do about it now. Why didn't they inform us first and give us a chance to put it right?"

The 70-year-old said she did not disagree with the council testing the stone but found it hard to believe it was insecure.

"I paid £1,000 for that stone," she explained, "I'm not accepting it.

"My husband's gravestone is only five years old - it can't have moved.

"I could understand it if it was the grave of someone who had been buried 25 years. I'm absolutely furious."

Bill Jones, 65, of Devon Close, Kidderminster, who has also got to have gravestones in the cemetery repaired, said: "You need something on there that tells you what needs to be done otherwise you have to take a chance with what needs to be done.

"I am having them put right without knowing."

Councillor Marcus Hart, the council's cabinet member for commercial services, said: "Wyre Forest District Council recommends that owners of memorials which have been temporarily fixed and/or have a warning notice attached contact a registered memorial stonemason to have it made safe.

"If it is a relatively new memorial, we would advise owners to contact the stonemason who installed it.

"All memorials, regardless of age, have undergone the same 'topple test', to find out how safe they are.

"We are sorry if it has been upsetting and appreciate it is a very sensitive issue but we are confident that people would want us to ensure that the cemetery is a safe place for people to visit and pay their respects."

For further information about the tests, contact Tim Johnson on 01562 732938.