A MOTHER and father have shared their disgust at being forced to use a strimmer to reach their baby’s grave in a ‘neglected’ area of Astwood Cemetery.

Paula Miller visited the cemetery with her husband to tend to the grave of their son, who died at just two days old.

But they found they could not get to the grave.

The distraught mother said: “The grass was up to my waist.

She continued: “It was only luck that we had the strimmer in the boot, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get to the grave.

“I think it is absolutely diabolical that the grass has been allowed to get this out of control. It looks completely abandoned.

“It is a total lack of respect for the souls that rest here.”

She continued: “My husband and I live in Cheltenham now, but we try to come down to Worcester to visit the grave once a month.

“It is in an older part of the cemetery, of course. We are in our 70s now, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be cared for.

“Something must be done about it. They have been neglected.

“I think it is completely unacceptable. I am lost for words I really am.”

When a Worcester News reporter visited the cemetery on Friday morning, sections of the cemetery were clearly overgrown and some head stones were impossible to get to without wading through waist length grass.

But three groundsmen were strimming around the graves during the visit.

A spokesman for Worcester City Council said: "The persistent rainfall two weeks ago made it incredibly difficult to cut the grass. There was also a surge in burials which meant staff had to split their time between burials and maintenance.

"We then had a few really hot days which caused the grass to shoot up. However, the team have now cut it back and are on top of it once again. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."