A NUMBER of angry residents have slammed the city council following an article about a couple in their 70s who were forced to use a strimmer to get to their baby's grave.

Paula Miller visited Astwood 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.”

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

The council put the issues down to a number of factors.

A spokesman 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."

The story evoked a strong reaction in the comment section of our Facebook page,with many residents saying they too had experienced similar problems.

Sally Troth said: "I attended Astwood Cemetery today to tend my family grave it took me half an hour to remove all the grass from the grave and clean the grass off the headstone. It is disgraceful how the strimming is carried without any respect for the graves of loved ones."

Sue Goode wrote: "Astwood cemetery is a disgrace they have no empathy when they do strim. My gran's grave last week was awful strimmed dry grass all over it. The worst I've seen it. My grandad's, which is in the older part, hadn't been strimmed at all and that area looked a right mess."

When the Worcester News put the complaints to the council, Cllr Andy Stafford, chair of Worcester City Council’s environment committee said: “Our Bereavement Service team takes its responsibilities very seriously – we always aim to be respectful, flexible and helpful.

"The grass is cut at many areas in Astwood Cemetery on a daily or weekly basis. However, given the Cemetery comprises 68 hectares of grounds and 55,000 graves, some rotation across the whole site is necessary.

“Our staff are well trained and make every effort to ensure items placed on graves are not damaged while the grass is being cut.

"We would encourage visitors to come and speak to us if there are any issues – we will do our very best to help resolve them.”