Jobsworths ban plaque on wife's grave

Albert Winter received a blunt, official registered letter from Rother Council last week - asking him to remove it before they did.

The letter from cemeteries officer Chris Goodwin said the plaque contravened the council's cemeteries regulation 16e, which stated that no wooden, plastic or plaster memorial or other material considered inappropriate by the Proper Officer, was permitted.

The offending heart-shaped plaque, less that eight inches at its widest, was a mother's day memorial to Jacqueline Winter from her daughter Victoria six months after she had died in September 1996.

It was placed inside a terracotta tub of roses on the headstone's plinth and said simply: "I love you mum."

Albert, of Whitehouse Avenue, who had triple-bypass heart surgery 18 months ago, was upset and angered by the letter but removed the plaque and pot and a separate flower trough from Bexhill Cemetery that same day.

"I know the rules and regulations and fair enough. They are perfectly right. But this little plaque had been on my wife's grave for five years. Why now? When I contacted the officer who wrote the letter for clarification, he wouldn't give me an explanation, he just kept quoting the regulations.

"The letter was offensive and insenstive. I know they are right but it has been up for five years. It was just so over the top - a right jobsworth.

"Why couldn't they have written a normal letter telling me they would like it taken away without being so formal? They never mentioned the pot or trough of flowers on the grave, just the plaque."

The letter said if the plaque was not removed within two weeks then it would be removed by the council and Mr Winter would have to pay any administration charge if he wanted it back.

"If they had written to me when it was first put there I would understand it. Or if it was causing a danger then fair enough.

"But this was on the headstone plinth. It is not something you would trip up on and it was not causing an obstruction for the grass mower.

A London ambulance driver for 22 years, Albert saw red when he read the letter. "I should not have sounded off and they are in the right. But I pay almost 100 a month council tax and this is what I get for it.

"The tone of the letter was unnecessary and I hope they don't send similar letters to other bereaved people."

Mr Winter said he was also concerned that the letter was the possible fore-runner of a move to lay down supposedly dangerous headstones which raised a furore at Lewes Cemetery recently because relatives were not warned.

"I noticed a number of stones have been laid down at the cemetery already. It did cross my mind that perhaps that's what they were doing."

Alwyn Roebuck, contracts and amenities services manager, said the council was implementing the regulations and several grave owners had been written to about anomalies. Over the years changing staff had meant few inspections. These were being brought up to date.

He told the Observer: "There has been a plastic tub on the grave which jutted out onto the lawn area. This contravened the regulations. The plaque contravened regulations because it was not fixed to the headstone. But once secured it would be no problem."

Mr Roebuck could not explain why the flower tub was not mentioned in the letter, nor why the fixing the plaque to the headstone was not given as an alternative to its removal.

"I cannot comment on the wording of the letter until I have spoken to Mr Godfrey, except to say that the letter was incomplete and could have gone into a little more detail."

Registered letters were a council approved method of safeguarding both the grave owners and the council.

Mr Roebuck, who said he would be writing again to Mr Winter, denied there was a move to lay down headstones but added: "We have a responsibility to make sure grave stones are safe and not falling over."