Neston mother’s heartbreak at removal of items from her son’s grave at Landican Cemetery

Feb 18 2009 by Carrie Catterall, Heswall News

A MOTHER’S memorial to her son was removed from his grave without warning by cemetery workers last week.

Since Corinna Baines, of Highfield Road, Neston, lost her 25-year-old son Craig Baines 18 months ago, she has tended his grave at Landican Cemetery almost daily.

But when Corinna visited the graveyard last Friday, everything had been disrupted. Crystal stones and flowers had been removed.

She said: “My family and I take it on ourselves to make sure Craig’s grave is lovely.

“I received no letter to say changes were needed and I was heartbroken when I saw it had been disturbed and things had been removed.”

A council spokesman said: “Since the 1970s all new sections of the cemetery have been classified as ‘lawn sections’. This means all memorials should only be created within a border of 18in.

“We are extremely sorry for the distress felt by the family. The letter will have explained the reasons why changes were needed to their plot, it is unfortunate that they don’t appear to have received this information.”