Leicester family upset as grass left to grow at cemetery

Leicester City Council says the grass is left long to encourage biodiversity

A family say they are upset that grass has been left to grow long around their relatives' graves to help wildlife.

Julie Thorpe spoke out after a recent visit to Leicester's Welford Road Cemetery.

The 49-year-old said it was "disgraceful" the grass was so long they struggled to see the graves, and her 71-year-old mother almost fell over.

Leicester City Council said it was aiming to encourage biodiversity.

"All my mum's family are there," Ms Thorpe told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"My grandma, my grandad, mum's sisters. Then my mum's got her grandma, her grandad, my mum's uncle.

"The grass is so long you can't see the gravestone. My mum nearly fell over. She was crying seeing it, it was really upsetting for her.

"We just went down to take some flowers, it's really disgraceful. I know they do it for the nature, but it's never ever been so long that you can't see where you're walking."

'Important wildlife site'

A Leicester City Council spokesperson said, while large areas of the site are rarely visited, they try to make sure those graves which do have visitors are accessible.

"Welford Road cemetery is one of the most important sites for wildlife in the city, due to its species-rich neutral grasslands and veteran trees.

"To support biodiversity, these areas are maintained as wildflower meadows, which means the grass is allowed to grow long and flower and isn't cut until the flowers have seeded in June and July.

"If families let us know that they wish to visit regularly, we can arrange to mow a path to their grave to ensure that it's tidy and accessible."