COUNCIL chiefs at the centre of a flattened gravestones row last night pledged relatives will not have to pay for memorials to be restored.

Caldicot town council laid scores of headstones flat after a health and safety inspection at Dewstow Cemetery.

But the move outraged relatives - and at a special public meeting in Caldicot Comprehensive School last night the council apologised for upsetting people by cordoning off flattened headstones last Saturday.

Caldicot Mayor, Councillor Rae Higginson, told families that Memorial Mason Companies would re-erect headstones which were placed on graves in the last five years, but failed the safety tests.

And the town council will ensure that all other headstones laid down during inspection work are also restored.

She said: "Where bereaved families agree, the council will arrange for the re-erection of their headstone at no cost to them.

"Families wishing to make their own arrangements can do so, however, the amount that the council would contribute towards the cost would be equivalent to that paid by the council for each individual headstone."

Councillor Higginson said where families had already arranged for headstones to be re-erected, the council would pay the appropriate amount. If bereaved families cannot be contacted, the council will arrange for headstones to be re-erected.

The council says the gesture is not compensation but a way of keeping the memorials in good order.

At the meeting - also attended by funeral directors and Memorial Services Ltd, the consultants behind the inspection work - relatives were able to ask questions about the work.

This week, the council will begin inviting tenders for the restoration scheme. All the work should be completed by Christmas.

But some families remain concerned about the way inspections were handled and the possibility that headstones could be re-tested.

Caldicot resident Paul Beard said: "You are paying for this now, but if a gravestone fails the test in the future, are you going to pay for it to be restored again?"

And another local, Beverly Davies, added: "My daughter's was the only baby headstone to go down. Will I have to go through this again? It is bad enough losing a baby."