A COMMUNITY activist who had come to pay his respects to his late mum and dad was disgusted to see dirt dumped on a Worcester grave while cemetery workers dug a new grave.

Graham Houghton was visiting Astwood Cemetery in Worcester on Friday when he saw graves covered in soil with only wooden boards stopping the mound of earth falling onto two headstones. However, a spokesperson for Worcester City Council said the work was done that day while digging a fresh grave and they always tried to keep soil an acceptable distance from headstones where there was space.

Mr Houghton of Henwick Park, St John's, Worcester, was so incensed he took photographs of the graves. In the photographs flowers can be seen laid next to one of the headstones and Mr Houghton said he was concerned more floral tributes or wreaths lay beneath the mound of earth.

The co-ordinator of West Side Neighbourhood Watch said: "It's disrespecting the dead, putting the dirt on the graves like that. I don't know why they do things like that all the time. There are signs saying 'respect the graves' and they're doing that. It's pathetic.

"What would have happened if someone had come up and that had been their family member and they saw that?"

Mr Houghton whose mum and dad and sister-in-law are buried at the cemetery: "If I had found that on my parents' grave there would have been uproar over it. They can't get away with it. It's disgraceful. It was wooden boards around the sides and dirt just chucked on top."

A spokesperson for Worcester City Council said: “On Friday staff temporarily moved the soil on to boards while digging a grave in a neighbouring plot.

"The soil was removed and replaced on the same day. We would like to apologise for any offence this work caused – the team does make every effort to ensure soil is kept at an acceptable distance from headstones, where there is sufficient space to do so.”