Gilroes Cemetery: Families horrified by state of flooded graves

Families said they found it difficult and distressing to visit the graves due to the conditions

Flooding at a Leicester cemetery has left families and loved ones "horrified" by the condition of graves.

An extension to Gilroes Cemetery, off Groby Road, has become waterlogged and muddy over recent months.

Visitors said they had been forced to put down woodchip and dig drainage holes to be able to pay their respects.

The city council said previous works had not managed to remove all the water but additional drainage measures were being installed.

Residents said the ground had quickly turned to sludge

Opened in 2011, the extension was fitted with drainage, but as new areas have been used, problems have emerged.

Lesley Tyrrell's husband was buried in the cemetery last summer and she told the BBC initially the plot was "beautiful".

But she said that changed with the first significant rain.

"I was amazed at how quickly everything sank, it just turned into sludge," she said.

"I was absolutely horrified. It didn't matter where you stood, everything was just awful.

"I actually dug down at the back because it was just full of water and we put bark down.

"There is just no way we would consider putting a stone down.

"If I hear the rain at night, there is just no chance of sleeping, because I am thinking 'what is going to happen next?'"

The council said remedial work had not been completely successful but added a solution would be found

Lucy Parish's boyfriend Denver Barfield, who was killed in a motorbike accident in Vietnam, is buried at the site.

"It's really sad because this is somewhere where we can to come and remember him and you can't - there is nowhere to sit," she said.

"It is distressing seeing the grave in such a bad state and there is nothing we can do about it.

"The number of times his family have had to spend hours in the mud and rain taking everything off the grave and then putting it back on, just so it can be refilled a bit, just for it to sink again three days later.

"It's just not fair."

Stewart Doughty, head of parks and open spaces at Leicester City Council, apologised to the families.

"We are working to address the issue," he said.

"Drainage was installed but with the new plots, with the exceptionally heavy clay soils, this no longer works.

"Recent works have solved the issue in some areas but unfortunately not all.

"New pipes are being installed and we will continue working on the site until it gets better."