Express & Star

'I feel sick' - relatives protest at the state of graves at Walsall cemetery

Hundreds of people are set to protest in Walsall town centre over a row with the borough council about grave maintenance at Streetly Crematorium and Cemetery.

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They claim Walsall Council has given them 28 days to remove edgings and flowerbeds from graves at the Little Hardwick Road-based plots, stating it is a 'lawn cemetery'.

The move has sparked uproar with hundreds of mourners, particularly among the Muslim community, who have accused the authority of discrimination over age and religious beliefs. They say an area designated for children's graves is allowed to have flowerbeds and edgings.

They also claimed many Muslim graves are hollow and covered over with wood, due to their beliefs, so having the edges marked, whether it be with rope around the perimeter or proper marble blocks, also served a safety purpose.

The row, which has been going on for more than three years, has now reached boiling point and hundreds of people have vowed to demonstrate outside Walsall Town Hall tomorrow, as well as hand in a petition containing more than 1,500 signatures to the council.

Father-of-three Mehboob Matloob, aged 45, has been leading the fight, and said years of talks with the authority over the dispute have come to nothing.

He said: "It has made everyone angry and frustrated. We have tried everything to compromise with the council and offered to take maintaining the graves off their hands.

"The whole thing just makes me feel sick. All we want is a resolution."

A council spokesman said: "Walsall Council has a duty to its residents to preserve the peace and sanctuary that our cemeteries offer to all visitors.

"Walsall follows the widely accepted lawn principle for new graves, which is similar to war graves, that consist of straight rows of headstones and a lawn of flat grass throughout the cemetery.

"The majority of people will understand there needs to be proper management of the regulations in place, which need to be observed to prevent these places of remembrance from becoming disorganised and chaotic.

"We have just undertaken a comprehensive two month period of consultation.

"We have made some minor changes to the rules and regulations and these were confirmed by Cabinet at its June meeting. We will continue to manage the council cemeteries for the benefit of everyone."

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