Mourning families find 'disgusting' health and safety stickers put by local councils on gravestones
8 November 2024, 19:23 | Updated: 9 November 2024, 00:35
A local council has sparked anger after putting health and safety stickers on gravestones that were leaning too much.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Some of the stickers, placed by Glasgow Council staff on gravestones in city cemeteries, are covering up names and dates of the deceased.
The yellow and white stickers warn that the headstones fail health and safety standards. They also give a phone number for the loved ones responsible for the graves to contact "for more information".
Glasgow City Council said that it had a responsibility to inspect headstones to make sure they were safe, and this was the easiest way to make contact with the people responsible for their upkeep.
An eight-year-old boy died in 2015 after a gravestone fell on top of him. Hundreds of gravestones in that cemetery were later found to be unsafe.
But some locals are upset by the council's approach, which they feel is disrespectful.
“It’s disgusting and morally wrong to deface somebody’s resting place," said Sami Tollett, who saw the stickers on other headstones when visiting her late father's resting place in Riddrie Park Cemetery.
“It’s actually sad to see," she told the BBC. "It used to be a lovely place, well kept and maintained, but now it’s an eyesore."
The council said the stickers were the "lesser of two evils", given the risk to the public of unstable headstones.
A spokesperson added: “Regular inspections of headstones is a statutory obligation for the council but the maintenance and upkeep of any memorial is a matter for the owner.
“However, as owners themselves pass on, identifying a person to take responsibility for headstone maintenance can become very challenging.
“Applying these notices to headstones is an effective way to reach out to families and they have helped us to make contact with people who have an interest in undertaking necessary repairs.
“Headstone maintenance is not a service we provide and families must privately engage an appropriate stonemason to complete any work.
“As a last resort, headstones will be laid flat to ensure public safety, although we know this can cause upset to families when they become aware of the poor condition of their family members’ memorial.”
