Bexhill Cemetery shock

The Observer has been receiving an increasing number of letters from distraught families who have arrived at the cemetery to find their loved-ones' memorials 'vandalised.'

On Wednesday we decided to see for ourselves the scale of the devastation and were met with a sight that should shock the whole town.

In recent weeks and months council staff have systematically laid down every headstone or memorial which fails to stand up to a 'hand test' - a good shove.

The result is that literally hundreds of graves - too many to count - now lie flat.

Some rows of headstones resemble more a building site than a graveyard. It is not only upsetting for those directly affected but anyone who visits the cemetery. What was once a place of peace, reflection and respect looks now like the scene of an earthquake..

The older stones, those for which living relatives could not be contacted, will probably lie prostate for ever.

But it's not just the old stones affected. Many are just two or three years old and are still lovingly tended and adorned with flowers.

One which lay flat this week marked the grave of an eight-year-old boy who died just four years ago. His parents would have been ordered to securely replace the stone and foot the bill for doing so.

Rother District Council has been accused by relatives of insensitive vigour by glibly carrying out new government health and safety policies relating to headstones without question.

Of course, the council found itself in a difficult position over such a sensitive and emotive issue.

It says it was acting to satisfy its legal responsibilities and did all it could to ensure families were given proper notice and explanation.

Relatives have also challenged the rationale behind the new policy, which was introduced following a handful of deaths nationwide caused by falling headstones. They say that the remedy is disproportionate to the danger.

The fact is the danger of falling headstones is probably is no greater now than it's ever been. Are we expected to believe gravediggers and stonemasons have suddenly started doing a shoddy job?

Far more likely is that all the family misery being caused at the moment is down to yet another government health and safety regulation dreamed-up by people with no thought for the consequences.