Gloucester vicar apologises after pushing down gravestones
BBCA vicar who pushed down several gravestones in his churchyard without notifying relatives has apologised.
Kath Green from Matson in Gloucester said she visited her family grave at the cemetery in St George's, Brockworth, last month and was shocked to find the headstone lying down.
She went to the cemetery to place Remembrance Day poppies in memory of her father who was a former soldier.
The vicar said it was necessary to lay down the memorials on safety grounds.
But Ms Green said she was unaware of any issue with the headstone until she saw what had happened.
Her father, Charles Wiggall, who died in 1987, and his wife Doris, who died in 2013, and his parents, Philip and Annie, were all buried in the grave and their names are engraved on the headstone.
"I got right up to it and saw that the stone had been laid flat. I was really, really upset," Ms Green said.
"If I had been told in advance that it was going to be done, I could have said something about it but we had no idea."
She said she spotted about five other headstones to the right of theirs that were also lying down.
After emailing the church administrator to complain the Diocese replied stating it had concerns on safety grounds.
She said when she she called in a stonemason to reinstate the headstone he was "appalled" at the way it had been treated.
Ms Green said it cost her family £150 to ensure the safe re-instatement of the headstone.
Ms Green said when she contacted the vicar, Rev Mike Smith, he replied by email.
He insisted that he did it in a "careful and respectful way" and that he was sorry for any upset caused.
"As you probably noticed there were many that were unsafe, and I still have more to inspect," he said.
"Under advice of the safety of burial grounds as set out by the Ministry of Justice and the Diocese of Gloucester there is a risk that an unstable headstone could cause injury."
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