State of Barnard Castle cemetery shows ‘lack of respect to those buried there’

COUNTY workers cleared rotting leaves from Barnard Castle cemetery last week following a string of complaints from people who have loved ones buried there. 

Piles of leaves had cluttered the entrance, gathered around the surrounding railings and collected around gravestones.

A similar problem happened last year.

County council officers say the clean up was part of a scheduled programme.

Neil Diment, who lives near to the cemetery, said maintenance crews had cut the grass but did nothing to remove the leaves. He added: “The leaves have been there for over a couple of weeks now, blocking the gate and despoiling the graves and general appearance of the cemetery for those that walk by along the adjacent footpath every day. It displays a lack of respect for those that have died and are buried there.”

He wrote to the county council’s clean and green team to complain.

James Bennett, Durham County Council’s clean and green manager, said: “Every autumn we schedule in clean and green visits to clear leaves from our cemeteries, but it is a big task and we cannot do them all at the same time.

“The Barnard Castle cemetery was scheduled for this week and our team was busy clearing leaves when we received a complaint from a member of the public.

“We swiftly received another email from the complainant saying they’d spotted the clean and green team in the cemetery and thanked us for our work.

"Due to the size of the cemetery, it will likely take a few days to complete.”