Bangor,North Wales - Families left to wade through knee-high grass to bury relatives in overgrown Bangor cemetery

'It's a disgrace!' 

Published date: 26 May 2016 | 

Published by: Mike Williams 
Read more articles by Mike Williams Email reporter

AN OVERGROWN Bangor cemetery where families have to bury relatives while standing in knee-high grass has been labelled a disgrace by a grieving widower.

Geoff Owen, of Llangoed, calls at the council-run cemetery near Bangor Crematorium regularly to visit the grave of his wife Janine, who died of cancer aged 48 in 2000.

But the former public servant, who is a keen fundraiser for a charity set up in his wife’s name, says he has never seen the cemetery in a worse state.

Gwynedd Council said it has reduced the frequency of grass cutting at cemeteries to save £60,000.

Mr Owen said: “The grass hasn't been cut in weeks, possibly months, and the conditions at this time of year mean it will grow very quickly.

“It is a disgrace.

"People are attending funerals in knee-high grass and getting soaked if it has been raining in the last few days.

"It's not right to have funerals going on when the place looks like that.

"I am not one to complain normally, but this, I felt I had to say something.

"I have never seen it as bad as this before.

“It is disgusting.”

Gwynedd Council says it has reduced the frequency of grass cutting at cemeteries from seven times a year to five after a “comprehensive” public consultation on ways it cansave money.

A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “Due to the huge cuts in funding the Council receives from central government to deliver local services, last autumn the authority carried out a comprehensive public consultation exercise in which over 2,000 Gwynedd residents and organisations had their say on a range of possible service cuts.

“Following this consultation exercise and detailed consideration of the submissions presented from Gwynedd residents, a meeting of the full council approved a series of service cuts on 3 March.

“This list of cuts approved by the council included an option that the authority reduced the frequency of grass cutting in its cemeteries from seven times a year to five times a year to save £60,000.”