AN unwavering mum has vowed to keep cementing ornaments on her son’s grave after being told they would be removed to comply with controversial personalisation rules.

Mother-of-three Cheryl Downes spoke out against Torfaen council after attaching chimes and toy cars to the resting place of her disabled son Leon with cement mix.

Leon had cerebral palsy and a brain tumour and died after having a fit in 1992.

She brought the new pieces along to Panteg Cemetery as workers took items including a windmill and chimes from his resting place last month.

Torfaen council stops grieving families from adorning graves with windmills, chimes and solar lights because they are seen as "disrupting the dignity and serenity of cemeteries".

Other ornaments such as glass items are also prohibited as they can break and are deemed to constitute a health and safety risk.

The Cwmbran mum said she had received a call from a council employee on Monday advising her the cemented items would be removed but pledged to do it again.

Mrs Downes, 52, of Marl Court, Thornhill, said: “I will go back up there again and again so they can see sense.

“I’m not doing no harm, I’m doing it for a loved one.”

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

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

A Torfaen council spokesman said: “Our cemetery rules and regulations are under review but until a decision on any changes is made by full council we will continue to maintain the cemeteries according to the current policy.”

To sign the new petition, follow this link: www.assemblywales.org