DEMOLITION work on an old Victorian chapel in the middle of a cemetery has been carried out without respect for the dead according to visiting relatives.

Late last year, permission was given for the Church of England to demolish the disused St Mary de Witton chapel in Droitwich.

The church says it has had no direct complaints about the work, which started in July, and the rector has rebuffed the claim the work was in any way disrespectful.

On Sunday, August 19, Sean Powell and his mother Mary Powell went to pay their respects at the grave of his great-aunt Marie Morgan, buried in 1995.

Following their visit, they contacted your Worcester News saying that one of the fences – restricting site access – was propped against the headstone of a baby, buried there in 1875.

And they claimed machinery had run over one other gravestone, tearing away the edges. “It is a mess and and shows a lack of respect, which is upsetting,” said 26-year-old Mr Powell. Mr Powell, who is a construction worker himself, said the site appeared “untidy”.

“Given where it is, I would expect more tact,” he said.

“I’m not bothered by the demolition, and the nature of a building site is it won’t look perfect, but there’s one gravestone that looks to have been cracked as it’s been gone over.” The focus of the work is at the cemetery’s centre, some yards from where Mr Powell’s great-aunt is buried. The demolition was commissioned by the Diocese of Worcester , but the Rev Doug Chaplin, rector for Droitwich, said he had had heard no complaints about that work. He said that it was “unfair” to say the workers were responsible for the breakage of a gravestone, as the cemetery had other visitors who came by car, and – due to its location – had “unfortunately” suffered vandalism in the past. “I have been up there, for burials, and as far as I can see, the builders have been treating it respectfully,” he said. “My understanding is that if they do move anything or break anything, they will make good before they leave.

“I can understand that if you visit once a year, you might be quite shocked, but I have heard no complaints from regular visitors to the cemetery – of which there are many – nor have I seen any evidence myself.”

The cemetery, which is still used for the interring of loved ones, is tucked away behind the Castle pub off a lane off Worcester Road, and contains graves dating to the founding of the church some 140 years ago.

An application to demolish the chapel was granted at the end of last year, with works delayed by the discovery of bats. The building was in poor repair, and it was decided to demolish the chapel as the Church of England had no use for the building.