My dad never cries but when he saw what happened he started weeping
A Liverpool resident, known for never shedding a tear, was moved to tears when he found his wife's grave disturbed.
“My dad never cries but when he saw what happened he sat down and started weeping”, these are the emotional words of Sandie Hughes, 44, describing what they encountered whilst visiting her mum’s grave.
Thornton Garden of Rest is owned and maintained by Sefton Council. The cemetery is situated on Lydiate Lane and adjacent to the Sundial Place housing development where thousands of new homes are currently under construction.
According to the local authority, the development site is home to a labour of moles which have now started appearing in the neighbouring cemetery with scores of molehills now visible across the grounds. The LDRS visited the cemetery and observed the mounds of soil spreading from the border of the construction area to the grave sites.
Jimmy Hughes, 75, is originally from Liverpool but travels regularly from North Wales to visit the grave of his wife, who sadly died two years ago.
However, approximately, five weeks ago, Jimmy was walking up the path and saw all of the ground disturbed with soil and mud spread all over her grave and the surrounding area. Jimmy said: “I was really upset when I got here. I just wasn’t expecting it, but there were molehills right in front of my wife’s grave.
“The soil had gone over into the pebbles, and I’d only laid them a couple of weeks before and it was a freezing cold morning. I had cloth gloves and started cleaning up, but I had to keep stopping because my fingers were getting frost bite and turned blue.
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“Now I’m worried about other people who are elderly and have mobility problems – like the lady who looks after the next grave where’s there more heaps of soil. There’s no way she’s going to be able to do that. She’s in her 90s.”
Sandie used to work at a nearby farm so is very familiar with the area and has been visiting Thornton cemetery for more than eight years as she has other relatives who are laid to rest in the grounds. She started noticing small mounds appearing about six months ago and has photographs of how the problem has evolved, noting it has worsened, particularly over the last few weeks.
Sandie added: “If you ask my other family members, they will say I’ve not grieved over my mum.
“But it was the first time I’ve cried when we came to her grave and saw the condition it was in, because of how hard my dad has worked to have it so nice. I hadn’t even seen it to warn him and we weren’t prepared for the shock of what we felt when we saw it.
“My dad doesn’t even cry in front of family, let alone people he doesn’t know. But he sat on the nearby bench and just started weeping.”
A spokesperson for Sefton Council acknowledged moles are a common species in the UK and can appear almost anywhere, but said: “We are aware of their recent appearance at Thornton Garden of Rest. This is due to their existing home, a neighbouring field, being turned into housing.
“Moles are a protected species of animal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and while traps can be used to help control their activity, we are aware they can be very ineffective. Our staff will continue to smooth over any disturbed land caused by mole activity.”
A spokesperson for David Wilson Homes North West said: “We can understand that some families may be upset by mole hills near to graves.
“We can confirm that since we began developing this phase of Sundial Place two years ago, there has been no evidence of the presence of moles and none of the residents have raised any concerns since moving in.
“Since being made aware of the molehills at the nearby cemetery, we have surveyed the public right of way that forms the boundary between the development and the cemetery and found no signs of activity.”