You may have read about tragic incidents involving unstable memorials, including the death of a four-year-old child. In response, Leeds City Council has introduced a rolling programme to inspect and test headstones and monuments across the city.
Notices have been displayed at Lawnswood Cemetery since November last year, and inspections there will begin in September. Memorials are privately owned, and grave owners are responsible for keeping them safe.
If a memorial is found to be unsafe, the council must act immediately and cannot first try to contact the owner of the gravesite.
The council team will lay the headstone within its own grave space, with the inscription facing upwards so it remains visible, and leave a notice on the grave.
Any headstone not laid in this way is unlikely to have been made safe by the council and may have fallen because of structural failure or vandalism. The owner is responsible for having the memorial re-erected by a qualified, accredited monumental mason, with council authorisation.
Please contact us or Council Bereavement Services if you need further information.