GRAVESTONES have been damaged after a large pine tree fell in St Woolos cemetery last night.

The tree has landed on graves and blocked a path at the cemetery.

It comes after heavy rain and strong winds over the weekend.

Conservatives councillor David Fouweather, who represents the Allt-yr-yn ward where the cemetery is based, said that Newport council must ensure that the trees in the area are regularly trimmed and maintained to prevent any further damage.

"The council will have to ensure that the grave stones are put back and repaired," he said.

"It's unfortunate that such an accident has happened in high winds and heavy rain, but the question I would be asking is are we properly maintaining these trees and cutting them on a regular basis?

"It seems like Newport Labour cuts are affecting council budgets."

He added: "The families will have to be contacted and the council will have to negotiate with them about the cost of repairs."

Fellow ward councillor Matthew Evans added that it was lucky nobody had been hurt by the tree falling.

"Clearly it's a major concerns for relatives that have been affected as it's not a very nice thing at all to have gravestones smashed to pieces.

"There's also the danger that if it had fallen on someone they could have been killed or seriously injured.

"It shows that it is so important to ensure routine maintenace as its a public area used by a lot of people and we can't skimp the safety as that is of paramount importance."

St Woolos is the oldest and one of the largest public cemeteries in the UK.

616,000 people are buried in Newport cemeteries, the vast majority in St Woolos.

Newport council said in a press release that all grave monuments in Newport cemeteries are being checked to ensure that they are safe.

"Starting with St Woolos, every grave monument is being checked in each of the council's three cemeteries. The survey follows national advice to ensure that all public cemeteries are safe for visitors.

"Letters about the survey are being sent to relatives of those buried in the grave, where known. Signs are also being erected at entrances to the cemetery with details of the work that is being carried out.

"Since 1995, three children have died in the UK following accidents in graveyards that prompted the national Institute of Burial and Cremation Administration to issue advice that memorials in public cemeteries should be checked. Their advice, issued to all local authorities states:

"It is essential that a full inspection procedure is carried out at all cemeteries and that this is documented and maintained. This should however be preceded by an initial inspection of memorials to seek to identify and remove immediate dangers ensuring the safety of staff and visitors to cemeteries."

It's not the first time that the cemetery has been severaly affected by heavy rain.

In December 2012 many graves were submerged by water after part of the cemetery was flooded.

Pumping equipment was eventually used to clear the cemetery of water.