Middlewich Cemetery graves have ornaments taken away

At Monday night’s meeting, Middlewich Town Council members were told of three incidents where items had vanished from graves at Middlewich Cemetery – and the families affected are keen to know who is responsible.

Kathryn Stringer, who now lives in Leighton, said: “Over Christmas I visited my mother’s grave and dressed it rather nicely. Every year for 26 years I have gone back on her birthday and taken off what I put on at Christmas.

“I was absolutely devastated to find out that someone else had taken it from her grave. They weren’t items that were perishable, they were artificial items.

“When I went down to put her birthday flowers on I couldn’t because whoever had taken the flowers off the grave had also taken the pot, so there was nowhere physically for me to put the flowers.

“Also on there I had put in two storks with plaques on. One said ‘to grandma’, from my children, and the other one said ‘to mum’. If anybody removes them, that should be me.

“Who has the right to take something so personal from a grave?”

Wendy Pedler told members she places flowers at her son’s grave every Sunday, but visited last Thursday after first hearing Kathryn’s story on Facebook.

She said: “When I got down there they were all gone. My son’s partner’s were gone as well, and she was absolutely furious.”

Another member of the public also spoke out after a floral display for her mum’s grave had disappeared, and Cllr David Latham told the meeting he had reported similar incidents to police.

He said: “I have had several reports myself of items going missing from various graves over the Christmas period, which I have taken up with the local police – they are monitoring both the cemetery fields.

“There are reports of drug taking being done. I personally have reported that myself, I have seen it taking place with my own eyes, and the police are on it, they are monitoring it, and they are looking into the fact that other items off individual graves have been reported to be taken.

“It would seem to be that there are people that don’t show respect to these areas and are thieving or pinching certain items that they wish to take. I’m just hopeful that we can get some concrete answers.”

Cllr Simon McGrory, acting chairman of the town’s cemetery board, promised the families the board would try to get to the bottom of what had happened.

He said: “I apologise for the distress that you have had, and anybody else, through what may be actions taken by staff, actions taken by other people outside the cemetery. It is not acceptable.

“It always has been a policy to remove natural holly wreaths, towards the end of January, when they start to deteriorate. That is standard in cemeteries all over the country and Middlewich is no different.

“Artificial wreaths are not placed in the skip. They are stored and can be collected.

“Any other tributes placed on graves at any time of the year are done at the owner’s risk – that is part of the terms of every cemetery and ours as well.

“Unfortunately, anything of value is a target given the amount of anti-social behaviour that does exist from the minority who don’t respect cemeteries. The staff will not willingly remove anything personal.”