THE relatives of more than 150 people buried at Upton Cemetery are being asked to pay for repairs to gravestones.

This follows tests carried out over the past few months which concluded they were unsafe.

The town council is hoping to trace relatives to ask them to pay for the work needed to make the headstones comply with new regulations.

Coun Eric White said a mixture of old and fairly new gravestones were affected.

He promised that none of the stones would be laid down or marked with yellow hazard tape. When this was done at Malvern Cemetery it provoked outrage from relatives.

Coun White said: "We had them tested and we've now got a list of the gravestones that are wobbly. We're trying to trace the relatives to tell them and see if they will get them put right.

"We'll not be putting black bags or sticks with hazard tape round them. They haven't been touched."

Coun White said the council had yet to decide what it would do if the relatives could not be traced.

The work is part of a nationwide memorial testing scheme.

A list of the people the council is seeking to contact is available by calling 01684 592273.

n Last Saturday, vandals broke into a disused chapel at the cemetery. Nothing was taken.

It is the latest in a series of incidents involving vandalism at the cemetery. Previously, gravestones have been broken, benches thrown around and vases broken.