Council slammed over 'disgraceful' state of cemetery in Biggleswade

David Lincoln, 77, has several close family members laid to rest at the site, including his mother, father, and wife's family, as well as his two best friends.

But he claims he has been left "upset" and "depressed" at the overgrown areas, weeds, broken headstones, and crime in the cemetery.

In response, Biggleswade Town Council says its public realm staff are dedicating 14 days per month to the cemeteries, and that the maintenance of individual headstones is the responsibility of the grave owners and their relatives.

David claimed: "I have been in touch with the council about this for the last three years, but I just keep getting fobbed off – they're 'short of staff' or 'it's been raining'. Some of the graves have bramble bushes around them, and there's a tree in the middle of one of them that's ten foot tall.

"Where the cremation bit is, they [council staff] were going over that the other day with a strimmer, but were cutting people's flowers to bits. There was a little toy angel, that went flying.

"I'm Biggleswade born and bred and it's not nice to witness or see that sort of thing in a graveyard."

David also claims that crime and anti-social behaviour is on the rise in the cemetery, including drug dealing, vandalism, and people riding their bikes through.

Last year, David says he even witnessed one man letting his dog defecate over a gravestone.

He claimed: "There was no drug dealing up there when the camera was there, but unfortunately it was taken down about 18 months to two years ago.

"There needs to be some dignity. When it's my turn I'm going to be cremated and I don't want to end up in Bigglewade."

A town council spokesman, said: "The remaining maintenance work at Stratton Way Cemetery was completed last week. To ensure both Stratton Way and Drove Road Cemeteries are well cared for, Public Realm staff are already alternating their maintenance schedule, dedicating 14 days to each cemetery per month.

"The Cemeteries Policy dictates that the maintenance of individual graves and their headstones is the responsibility of the grave owners and their relatives. This is why Public Realm staff focus on maintaining the areas immediately surrounding the graves, without disturbing the graves themselves; however, officers are diligently working to identify graves that may still have living relatives.

"For those graves that appear untended, Public Realm workers have already begun the process of clearing them, and they will continue this work over time.

"Our Public Realm staff strive to be as careful and respectful as possible while performing their duties, particularly when strimming the grass around the graves. As careful as our staff are, this is not always possible due to the placing of memorabilia around some of the graves.

"CCTV cameras are not installed at the cemeteries to protect privacy and respect the mourning process.

"Regarding dog walkers, our staff have approached them on multiple occasions so as to encourage respectful behaviour.”

Mayor Councillor Mark Foster, added: “The council are supportive of the hard work that the Public Realm team are doing and appreciate the efforts being made to ensure that our cemeteries are well maintained."

Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Donna Louise Donnelly, said: “We recognise the impact of anti-social behaviour (ASB) on all communities.

“Our day-to-day activity involves high-visibility patrols which aim to disrupt activities such as drug dealing, and vandalism. Our presence also empowers members of the public to engage with us and share any concerns they may have.

“We do however recognise, that there are times when members of the public may choose to wait and see whether behaviour ‘cools off’ or in some cases, worsens, before bringing incidents to our attention. We would encourage you to report incidents soon after you see or have been affected by them.

“Our officers regularly deliver a series of community engagement activities, get involved with promoting awareness days/weeks, carry out dedicated operations, and host weekly community surgery sessions.

“Collaborating with partner agencies, local businesses and members of the public is an approach we regularly adopt, to ensure unwanted crime is tackled effectively. We’d invite anyone with information regarding ASB in the Biggleswade area or wider county to call us on 101, report online or contact Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111."