'Graves are underwater' - Devastation as Walsall plots flooded 'like a lake' again following weekend of heavy rain
Mourners visiting their loved-ones at North Walsall Cemetery have spoken out after plots flooded again over the weekend.
Diane Wilson, 50, said the Saddleworth Road cemetery was ‘like a lake’ when she went to visit her mum.
Angela Meeson, also 50, said Walsall Council should stop ‘taking people’s money’ for plots without warning families about the long-standing issue.
Diane said: “I went to my mum’s plot but I was sinking in the mud. I couldn’t put flowers down because I was getting stuck in the mud. The one next to my mum’s was like a swimming pool.
“The one in front of my mum’s was like a river. I usually go up and sit there and have a flask of tea but I couldn’t even put flowers there. It was awful.
“Before she passed she always always said make sure there’s always fresh flowers and it’s always clean. She would not want to go anywhere like that.”
Diane said Walsall Council should have warned her family of the flooding issues before offering her a plot, which cost over £3600.
Angela visits her mum’s grave every week. She said: “It’s always been a bit muddy by my mum but it’s gotten worse. There’s graves that are underwater.
“I go up every week and I used to sit down for half an hour chatting to mum but I can’t do that now. If I bring a foldable chair or plastic bag to sit on you just sink in.
“One time I got stuck in the mud and fell over. We paid a lot of money for our cremation plot and it’s devastating.”
North Walsall Cemetery is well-known for having poor drainage caused by the cemetery’s location on glacial till, which makes the soil unable to absorb water very well.
As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service in 2020, almost all of the 24 graves in the babies’ section of the cemetery were submerged in water.
Later that year, Walsall Council spent over £260,000 on drainage works to try and improve the issue.
Angela said: “All the baby graves were underwater but now it’s just shifted the problem somewhere else.
“My mum’s plot has a headstone but there’s a few that haven’t and they’re the ones that are underwater. When the water’s gone it’ll just be mud. It’s devastating for me to go up there and for other family members.
“I don’t think they should offer plots that flood, it’s not fair. They’re just taking people’s money and not warning them about it. We just want it sorting. It’s not about anything else. We just want it sorted.”
Walsall Council has been approached for comment.
