Stockton graveyard flooding nearing crisis point, council says

Extreme winter storms are exacerbating problems with flooding and mud in a number of cemeteries

A number of graveyards are reaching "crisis point" with flooding, a council director has warned.

Extreme storms have increased flooding at cemeteries in Stockton, the council's community services director Jamie McCann said.

Councillors said there had been numerous reports of graves filling with water as they are dug.

The authority said it was looking to solve the issues, including by finding new cemetery sites.

Addressing the council's place select committee, Mr McCann said the situation was becoming dire according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He said: "We've struggled with drainage in our cemeteries for a number of years and it's fair to say we're probably getting to crisis point now with the amount of rain we see across the winter months. 

"We've had some quite distressing situations where we've been digging graves and you can see them starting to fill up because the ground is so waterlogged."

'Glorified cesspit'

A report for the committee warned improvements were sorely needed.

It said: "Many of our sites were constructed many years ago and had minimal or no drainage.

"[This] has been compounded by a gradual increase in the annual rainfall level in recent years, resulting in an increase in standing water. 

"Clearly, the site of graves with standing water is both very distressing for the bereaved and also causes significant operational problems for our cemetery staff who need to dig graves for burials.

"They are constantly fighting the elements, especially over the winter months."

Councillor Mohammed Javed said he had recently seen a grave collapse during a funeral in Thornaby because of "water coming up".

In December, storms led to ground around the new Durham Road cemetery extension, in Stockton, becoming waterlogged.

Grieving mother Tracey Mayne labelled the ground a "glorified cesspit" after facing repeated problems at her son's grave.

The council said officials would carry out drainage surveys in the coming months, while a shortlist for a new cemetery site would be revealed "in the near future".