A WIDOW has branded the state of a dale cemetery “disrespectful” after finding tyre marks near her late husband’s grave.
Plots in Romaldkirk Cemetery were left muddied by machinery tracks earlier this month and evidence of the ruts is still visible.
A Middleton-in-Teesdale widow, who did not wish to be named, lost her husband late last year and regularly visits the picturesque site to mourn.
When she saw the marks left on the grass, she felt moved to act and sent letters to Durham County Council, which looks after the cemetery.
She said: “It resembles a war practice range with great big rutts.
“I’ve got to say something about it because it’s getting out of hand. It’s very distressing, not nice and not very respectful.”
After meeting authority staff on the site, the lady said she’d proposed an extension to the asphalt path as a solution.
But the idea came to nought and the damage persisted.
She added: “The undertakers taking my husband down there were slipping and sliding all over the place. If you are carrying a heavy coffin it’s a safety issue as well – I’m surprised the county council haven’t tried anything.”
The cemetery received a spruce up for the funeral of Hannah Hauxwell earlier this year with railings and gates repainted for the ceremony.
However, Cllr Lesley Cutting, chairwoman of Romaldkirk Parish Council, agreed with misgivings over its current condition.
She said: “We felt it wouldn’t have taken five minutes for the operators of the vehicles to be respectful and tidy up after themselves.
“It wouldn’t have taken long to trample down the rutts. It’s silly to think they have driven across there when the gates are nearby.”
The damage was felt all the more by the parish council as it lost long-serving vice-chairwoman Dorothy Goodall who died earlier this month aged 86. Cllr Cutting added: “Dorothy and her husband were very active in the village on that side of things.
“If ever there was a problem she would say ‘leave it with me’ as she had a wealth of knowledge about the village in her diaries. She was a very interesting person.”
Cllr Cutting inspected the damage last week and felt there was a simple solution to prevent future problems.
“There is another gateway into the cemetery which would be closer to the walking area and it’s closer to where they need to be,” she added.
Ian Hoult, Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: “We appreciate people want conditions at our cemeteries to be as good as possible and we strive to ensure that the important maintenance work we do at the sites does not have any negative impacts.
“Recent bad weather has meant ground conditions at the Romaldkirk cemetery have been challenging and we have carried out work to tidy up the site.
“We are happy to look into the possibility of extending and widening the Tarmac path at this cemetery and are considering the other points that have been raised with us around access.”
