Birmingham cemetery's potholes disrespectful, relatives say

Relatives who visit loved ones at a Birmingham cemetery say the number of potholes on its main road are "disgusting and disgraceful".

John Gilmore who tends to his grandmother's grave at Yardley Cemetery said he has written to the city council after counting 90 potholes and cracks.

Funeral director David Bastock said there has been a "massive change" in the service provided by the council.

The city council said it was carrying out renovations during the year.

Mr Gilmore said it was disrespectful that the route into the cemetery was littered with so many potholes.

"I've actually counted 90 altogether and it makes me feel really really sad, because I think all these people who are laid to rest in the cemetery have all contributed in their lives to Birmingham and I think it's really disrespectful to them," he told BBC News.

He said he contacted the city council's bereavement services about the state of the road in January but has not seen any repair work start.

Funeral director Mr Bastock said a sense of pride in how the authority cared for cemeteries had faded.

"My family have been funeral directors for over 160 years in Birmingham and we've seen a massive change in the level of service provided by the city," he said.

"We used to walk into the cemetery and be proud of what the council offered, sadly that's no longer the case."

The crematorium is due to close at the end of April for the renovation work and said there was "a significant amount of work to be done" to provide new, more environmentally efficient cremators at the site.

Extensive road resurfacing work will be carried out at stages throughout the year, the authority added.

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