Margaret Collins, who has her mum and aunty buried at Sheppey Cemetery

by Emma Grove

A grandma has hit out at a council, claiming those responsible for gardening at a cemetery have no respect.

Margaret Collins was distraught when she visited Sheppey Cemetery, in Halfway Road, Halfway, to lay flowers on the graves of her mother Dora Yates and aunty Doris Hamon.

The 67-year-old claims when the contractors used a strimmer to cut back the grass and weeds they broke the plastic fence around her mother's grave several times and regularly strim the heads off flowers and break ornaments.

She says it is not the first time it has happened and it is not only her relatives' graves it affects – the grandmother-of-four said she has spoken to other people there who think it is a problem.

Mrs Collins, of Augustine Road, Minster, said: "The grass is left to get quite long and then everything just gets shredded.

"it's like the contractors have got no respect – they don't go carefully around the graves" – margaret collins

"I don’t know how many times I’ve replaced the fence around my mum's grave.

"I've talked to other people up there and it's like the contractors have got no respect – they don't go carefully around the graves.

"It's people's loved ones and their last resting place so they should have respect.

"It looked terrible when I went there – the whole place looked a mess and it shouldn't look like it does. It's getting worse."

A Swale council spokesman said they would be speaking to Mrs Collins and will look into her complaint.

Commissioning and open spaces manager Len Mayatt said: "The council and its contractors are aware of the sensitive nature of their work in maintaining the cemeteries in the borough and strive to ensure high standards of maintenance are always achieved.

"We will take whatever appropriate action is required to resolve any issue identified with the service provided."

Jenny McIntyre, from Halfway, whose dad is buried at the cemetery, said she had always found the gardeners to be respectful.

She said: "The gardeners are fantastic. They have always been really good round my dad's grave."