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WATCH: Grieving families protest over Streetly Cemetery grave maintenance

Grieving relatives were among more than a hundred people who turned out to voice their anger over a row with the borough council about grave maintenance at a cemetery.

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Protesters claim Walsall Council has given them 28 days to remove edgings and flowerbeds from graves at Streetly Crematorium and Cemetery, stating it is a 'lawn cemetery'.

Outraged members of the Muslim community gathered outside Walsall town hall in protest on Sunday.

They were armed with megaphones and placards that had slogans including 'Shame on you Walsall Council'.

Protestors 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.

The demonstration in Walsall town centre was organised by Mehboob Matloob, whose younger brother Ramzin Matloob was buried at the cemetery.

Addressing the large assembled group through a megaphone, Mr Matloob said: "This has been a long-running dispute for many years with Walsall Council.

"They claim that certain sections are classed as lawn cemetery, so edgings and flowerbeds that have been installed are to be removed within 28 days, or they will be removed by Walsall Council."

Mehboob Matloob speaks through a megaphone at the protest

He added that other graves in another part of the cemetery had edgings and flowerbeds, but these were allowed to remain because they are children's graves.

"Why can't our adults and children have the same? We believe this is less favourable treatment from one person to another," he said.

Mr Matloob has highlighted that due to their beliefs many Muslim graves are hollow and covered over with wood, and therefore edges are often marked for safety.

More than a hundred people turned out to voice their anger

Also among the outraged mourners was Shazian Kausar, who lost her dad Najib Hussain a year ago.

"I am still grieving for my dad, and now they tell me I can't have a flowerbed at his grave," she said.

"I have been mis-sold a plot, because I was not told about these regulations before."

Ms Kausar's placard bore the slogan 'Shame on you Walsall Council', which was repeatedly shouted by the angry crowd.

Ahead of the demonstration, 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.

"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."

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