Newport woman 'heartbroken' after soil dumped on father’s grave (From South Wales Argus)

Newport woman 'heartbroken' after soil dumped on father’s grave

12:10pm Wednesday 16th January 2013 in News

A WOMAN has told of how she was left heartbroken after she found a mound of earth dumped on top of her father’s grave.

Rebecca Davies, 32, of Gaer Park Avenue, Newport, lost her father, Laurence Flight, to cancer in July last year, and when she and her husband visited his grave at St Woolos cemetery last Friday they found a pile of earth deposited on top of it.

The earth had been dug from another grave next to her father’s which grave-diggers were preparing for a burial. Newport council said the soil was only on the grave for a short time while the burial took place.

Mrs Davies said that when they raised the issue with staff, she was told that it was policy and was asked where they expected the earth to be put.

The material has been cleared since they visited the site.

“I’m heartbroken,” she said. “To me that’s very, very disrespectful.”

Mrs Davies, who says she has complained to the council about the issue, says her father had died suddenly in the summer after suffering from cancer.

“We are just trying to come to terms with losing him and we are faced with this,” she said.

She said she decided to speak to the press because they didn’t want the same thing to happen to anyone else.

The earth could have been put onto a truck rather than on top of her father’s grave, she added.

A spokeswoman for Newport City Council said: “This time of year is particularly busy for the cemetery department, and when digging graves we have to place the soil to the side of the grave and in some instances this goes over neighbouring graves.

“We place boards under the soil to minimise any mess, as was the case in this instance.

“Council workers take great care when digging graves and we would like to reassure the family that there has been no damage made to the grave of their relative and the soil was only on the grave while the burial took place.”