Daughter's headstone payment row

According to Joan Goldsmith, she must now reply within 21 days or Hastings council will bury or remove the memorial from Hastings Cemetery.

Hastings council insists the gravestone was dangerous having failed the first stage of safety tests and must be made safe, but will not be buried.

Mrs Goldsmith, who now lives in Surrey, said: "We received a letter from the council saying my mother's gravestone failed the test and I have to pay for its repair. This is very distressing. I visited my mother's grave about three weeks ago and cleaned it for the winter months and it was in a good condition and wasn't unsafe. The letter clearly stated the headstone would be buried if I didn't respond by November 12. Buried to me means placed in the ground and completely covered. I feel for those people who may receive a letter like this, or are on holiday or can't raise the money needed to repair the memorials and the distress it will cause when they think their loved ones headstones are to be buried.

"I have contacted a stonemason and he said it will cost more than 100 to repair the gravestone. It is not that easy for me to get down to Hastings so I will have to think about what I am going to do. But it does seem the council is being over zealous in this matter."

The safety tests involve wobbling gravestones to see if they are unsafe - Mrs Goldsmith's gravestone failed this test as it had become detached from the foundations. The next step is to apply a 35kg weight to the stone as this is equivalent to a small to medium child pulling on a gravestone.

If the gravestone is unsafe it is either laid down, cordoned off or propped up with a stake until it can be made safe.

The guidelines were introduced nationwide by the Health and Safety Executive a year ago after three children died from collapsing gravestones.

Hastings council said this is the first complaint they have received since the tests began on July 1 and since then they have tested 505 gravestones declaring 136 unsafe. Of those 136 only four have been laid down as immediate risks.

A spokesman said: "Mrs Goldsmith's gravestone was felt to be an immediate health risk so it was cordoned off and propped up with a stake.

"Mrs Goldsmith was then written to and informed the gravestone was dangerous and needed to be made safe which she would have to pay for as she owns the gravestone.

"If she didn't reply within 21 days we would make the gravestone safe by digging a deeper hole and lowering it up to a third into the hole. The inscription would still be legible and there would be no cost to Mrs Goldsmith.

"Every gravestone is being tested in a very sensitive way. We are laying down those that are an immediate danger and informing relatives. We are not being over zealous. Our practise in Hastings is a million times better than elsewhere. We have even been praised for our handling of this delicate situation."

n In Bexhill and Rye this week Rother council has announced the gravestones they laid down last year as a danger are still unsafe.

Last October Rother laid down 122 stones at Rye Cemetery and at Bexhill. Now the council considers the toppled stones themselves to be a safety threat and is planning to bury them in the ground.