Residents asked for loved ones' burial details

Middlewich Town Council said it wanted to "rebuild public trust and confidence"

A council which recently regained control of a cemetery has asked a town's residents for information about people buried there during the last 10 years after a report suggested there may have been "mismanagement" by those who ran it.

Middlewich Town Council has requested relatives who had loved ones interred at Middlewich Cemetery between January 2016 and May 2025 to provide their details to ensure entries in burial registers are "recorded in a proper manner".

It follows what the council said was an "alarming" report regarding how the cemetery and burial administration were previously managed.

The cemetery's previous operators have been approached for comment.

Mayor Simon Whittaker said he was "deeply sorry" for having to make the appeal, acknowledging the request could have "a great emotional effect on many people".

The town council said an investigation into the cemetery - run by an organisation separate from the local authority for many years - would "indicate that there has been mismanagement at the cemetery, which encompasses both governance and financial discrepancies".

Middlewich Town Council said that while it would not release the full report until after a court hearing later this year, it was "deemed necessary to request the community to come forward to help complete burial records".

The authority said it was asking for people to contact them on a phased basi:.

• Relatives of people interred between January 2023 and 13 May 2025 are requested to contact the council immediately

• A second phase, covering burials between January 2019 and December 2022, will start from 17 November

• Relatives of those buried between January 2016 and December 2018 are requested to contact the council from 1 December

The council has also asked people with a pre-paid plot to get in touch.

Council clerk Safia Kauser said: "The report's findings are both alarming and concerning regarding how the burial administration was previously managed.

"I understand that this will greatly affect the community, and I want to reassure residents that the council is actively working to ensure that there is full transparency and accountability in the management of the cemetery's past dealings."