Inquiry into video of 'maintenance worker walking over graves' at cemetery near Walsall
Walsall Council is looking into a complaint lodged by mourners at the centre of a row over grave maintenance after a worker was seen walking over graves.
Mehboob Matloob has asked for the incident, which has been caught on video, to be looked into.
The campaigner has led a long running protest from Walsall's Muslim community against the council after mourners were given 28 days to remove edgings and flowerbeds from graves at Streetly Crematorium and Cemetery.
He says that is 'against our belief and religion to walk over a grave and is haram in Islam'.
The video has been viewed more than 3,000 times on Facebook and Mr Matloob says he hopes it will 'silence all those who claimed we were going over the top in asking the council for grave edgings'.
So far, a 500-strong protest outside Walsall Town Hall has been held calling on the council to allow edgings to be put around graves, complemented by a 2,000-name petition. Mr Matloob claims that unless action is taken soon, a national protest will take place in Walsall.
He said: "This is why the community has been fighting for edgings around graves, so that nobody steps on them.
"I hope the video will silence all those who claimed that people were going over the top in asking the council for grave edgings.
"ht is against our belief and religion to walk over a grave and is haram in Islam."
Walsall Council spokesperson Kate Goodall said that a complaint regarding the video had been 'formally logged'.
She said: "Walsall Council stated that the council has received a complaint about maintenance works at Streetly Cemetery.
"This has been formally logged and we will now follow the appropriate complaints procedure."
