Praise for volunteers who clean cemetery

The Friends of Hull General Cemetery say respect for the site has increased in recent years

Volunteers who have spent years tidying a disused cemetery have been praised for their "inspiring" efforts.

Since 2018, the Friends of Hull General Cemetery group have spent their free time clearing the site, off Spring Bank West, of litter, as well as cleaning graves and documenting them.

Elizabeth Dillon, policy and partnership manager at Hull City Council, said the group is "incredible", adding: "Their dedication and hard work is truly inspiring, and we are committed to providing the equipment they need to continue their valuable work."

The group said it had noticed a "significant reduction in litter and fly-tipping" since work began, suggesting "an increased respect for the green space".

Pat Insall, one of the volunteers, believes Hull General Cemetery should be "cherished"

As well as picking up litter, the volunteers have cleared graves of vegetation and and cleaned headstones.

Pat Insall, a member of the group, said: "We need the green spaces in the city especially so that people can have a walk around. It's such an attractive area with different, old gravestones and headstones. They are really interesting for people to look at.

"[Hull General Cemetery] is something that needs to be cherished and kept in a good way."

Karen Towner, secretary of The Friends of Hull General Cemetery, said the group had also documented 54,000 burial reports for their website, which also contains photographs of all the monuments in the cemetery.

"Most people will have an ancestor - a great, great aunt, or a great, great grandfather or mother - in these cemeteries," she said.

Karen Towner, secretary of The Friends of Hull General Cemetery, invites others to join them

"It's a wonderful place. We're so lucky to have this green space."

Ms Towner encouraged others to join the group and extolled the benefits for physical and mental health.

She said: "You're out in nature. You have all these wonderful monuments around you, which are a work of art in themselves, and you're exercising.

Volunteers meet at the cemetery every Monday from 10:00 to 12:00 BST, and every first Sunday of the month from 13:30 to 15:00 BST.

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