Family 'devastated' after council fells memorial tree

The family of an ex-serviceman say they are "devastated" after a council felled a memorial tree dedicated to him and his wife without warning.

Carol Dickson said they were distressed to find a stump where her mother's ashes were also scattered at Bishopwearmouth Cemetery in Sunderland.

Mrs Dickson, from East Herrington, said the council told her the tree had died, but she argued it had been "blooming" several weeks before.

Sunderland City Council said it had received a complaint and was "continuing dialogue" with the family.

Dedicated to Edward Howard, who served during World War Two and died in 1979, the tree was planted the following year after his wife, Gladys, bought the plot.

It had stood at the cemetery ever since and became Mrs Howard's final resting place when her ashes were scattered underneath it following her death in 2008.

It is understood several other memorial trees at the site have been felled with some being deemed dead.

"I know our tree wasn’t dead, I’ve got a photo of it in bloom on Mother’s Day this year," she said.

Her niece Amy Howard had been visiting the tree along with her three-year-old son on 24 July, only to find it had been reduced to a stump.

She had only seen the "healthy tree" a few days before.

Mrs Dickson said: "It was really shocking.

"She was devastated when she came across and found it was gone, there was just a little stump there, with no warning to any of the family."

The family have since been told they cannot install a marker or plant items where the tree once stood due to cemetery regulations which are enforced by the council.

They are also not permitted to plant a replacement tree.

Mr and Mrs Howard's other daughter Janet, who now lives in Fulwell, said they were still "coming to terms" with the felling.

She said: "I know what my dad would say with my mam being there, they wouldn’t have got away with it which is why we can’t let them get away with it.

"Let us mark the plot, that’s all we want, the tree is gone and we can't do anything about that – we’d like another tree, they're adamant they can't do that."

Mrs Dickson has raised a number of complaints with the council, but said the authority had not resolved any of her concerns.

"They (her parents) deserve more respect than they're being shown with this and, to coin a phrase, my father fought for this country,” she added.

Sunderland City Council said it had received a complaint from Mrs Dickson which was "being examined" and would be responded to in "due course".

A spokesperson said the cemetery was one of the "largest" in the North East and with "more than 2,800 services every year" it was "not possible or practical to offer permanent markers where ashes are scattered".

It added that the sponsorship of memorial trees are not "passed on or transferred" beyond the original sponsor, which in this case was Gladys Howard.

It comes after the council wrote to a deceased woman asking her to clear "unauthorised items", including flowers, from her own grave at the same cemetery.

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