SAFETY inspections will be carried out on gravestones in an Abergavenny cemetery later this year.

Between September and October, Monmouthshire County Council will visit Llanelly Cemetery in Gilwern in order to ensure all those visiting the site - mourners or workers - can do so safely.

Stability tests will be carried out by trained council employees.

Failed stones will be temporarily supported using a stake and band, with cemetery staff these monuments with notices for family members urging them to contact a registered memorial mason if they wish to re-erect the stone.

If contact details are available the council will also write to families about the action taken and the steps they need to take.

Memorials not re-erected within six months of test failure will be sunk to one third of their depth at the head of the grave.

A council spokesman said that the local authority recognised that families may become anxious when informed that a grave is unsafe but “hopes that those affected will understand the overriding principle to ensure the safety of people visiting the cemetery.”

Cllr Phil Murphy, cabinet member with responsibility for cemeteries, added: “The work at Llanelly Cemetery is the next stage of our rolling programme to ensure the safety of memorials in the county’s cemeteries. Anyone with concerns should contact us and we will be happy to address them.”

For more information email the cemeteries officer - rhianjackson@monmouthshire.go.uk – or telephone 01873 735852.