Gravestone fears 'over-reaction'

New health and safety guidelines were brought in in 2004

Some councils have "completely over-reacted" by knocking down or supporting with stakes gravestones they believe pose a safety risk, says a minister.

Accidents caused by unsafe gravestones were "extremely rare" while the upset caused to families by toppling them was "very large", said Bridget Prentice.

Where there was "no good reason" for gravestones to be toppled, they should be restored, the justice minister said.

Government advice is to be issued to councils on the issue shortly.

During a Commons debate on the issue, Ms Prentice said: "This guidance is about to be published, and any local authority worth its salt will now look to start preparing to incorporate that guidance."

Restore monuments

She added: "I would expect that burial ground providers will review the decisions they have taken in all of the relevant sites in light of the guidance.

"And where there is no good reason for a gravestone to be staked down or laid down that they would restore the monument to its previous position."

She said they "may well" take the example of some councils that had already begun reinstating headstones at their own expense.

Unfortunately some burial ground operators ... have completely overreacted to the problem of unstable memorials Bridget Prentice Junior justice minister

"That will mean that they will have to remove the stake or re-erect the headstone as appropriate at a cost to the authority rather than to the individual bereaved families," she said.

The issue has been raised repeatedly by Labour MP John Mann, who even trained as a "topple tester" so he could check whether gravestones posed a risk.

He opened the debate by asking ministers to take action by Christmas, so people making an annual trip to visit relatives' graves did not find they had been knocked down or supported by stakes.

New health and safety guidelines for gravestones were issued in 2004 after reports of five deaths caused by falling headstones.

But Mr Mann said 859 families in his constituency had contacted him to complain about gravestones being knocked down or propped up with a stake - but about 95% of them had been "perfectly safe".

Instead of "thinking pragmatically", councils had paid private contractors for whom there was a financial incentive to stake or lay down the gravestones, "deeming them to be unsafe whether they are unsafe or not".

He told MPs there had been more deaths due to graveyard railings than from headstones in recent years.

"Does that mean we remove every railing in Britain?," Mr Mann asked.

Ms Prentice said: "Unfortunately some burial ground operators ... have completely overreacted to the problem of unstable memorials by supporting many gravestones with stakes or even laying them down."