GRIEVING families left devastated after cemetery mementoes were binned in a council purge demonstrated today in a bid to see a consistent policy on grave personalisation across Wales.

They protested outside Pontypool Civic Centre against rules which saw ornaments remembering dead children sent to landfill on health and safety grounds.

The campaigners collected more than 5,000 signatures calling on council chiefs to leave children’s graves alone but Torfaen council workers removed the items this summer.

Now the campaigners are planning to lobby the Welsh Government with a new petition in an attempt to ensure that the same rules are applied at every resting place in the country.

They argue that Torfaen has not been consistent in the way it removed ornaments from graves and say the Labour council failed to enforce its grave personalisation rules for years until its "targeted clear up" this summer.

The parents held banners and chanted: "Heartless Torfaen council, leave our graves alone." outside the civic centre this morning.

One campaigner, Catherine Board, 39, said: "We are doing a peaceful protest. We're not backing down. We want it all consistent. They're still taking things from the graves, which is upsetting everybody. We're all grieving."

The campaigners have already collected around 1,000 signatures in their attempt to achieve consistency on grave personalisation at cemeteries across the country.

They are to meet members of the petitions committee of the Welsh assembly at the Senedd on October 15 and hope to submit their petition towards the end of October.

Independent Torfaen Cllr Liz Haynes is helping the parents with their campaign.

She said: "Councils can have various policies. It's not appropriate.

"We're trying to make sure there is an all Wales policy."

The campaigners took part in the peaceful protest took place ahead a full council meeting and spoke to a council official who deals with grave personalisation in Torfaen.

Christina Harrhy, Torfaen council's chief officer for neighbourhoods, said: “We understand some cemetery visitors are unhappy with our current policy on grave personalisation and we apologise if our approach to enforcing the rules has upset families.

“While cemetery rules are a necessity, we accept that satisfying the very personal needs of all visitors to our cemeteries is very difficult to achieve.

“We’ve met families to discuss this issue and will be meeting again shortly to consider a way forward. Their contributions will be included in a report which will be considered by full council.”