NEW cemetery rules been published after grieving families failed in their bid to adorn graves with ornaments remembering their dead children.

Torfaen people collected more than 5,000 signatures during a campaign calling on council chiefs to leave children’s graves alone.

They argued that removing items like solar lights and windmills from babies’ graves was “heartless”.

Now the rules and regulations for cemetery users in Torfaen have been updated.

A revised guide has been written following an extensive period of consultation, Torfaen council said this week.

The guide sets out the rules around cemetery use in a manner that is clear for cemetery users, a council spokesman said.

It also addresses issues of grave personalisation to ensure consistency across all cemeteries in the borough, the spokesman added.

Under the new guidelines items which move, light up or make a noise will not be permitted.

The executive member for neighbourhood services, Cllr John Cunningham, said: “Our new rules and regulations have been developed following an extensive consultation process, and we have engaged directly with the petition group which raised concerns about grave personalisation.

“Their main concern has been that rules are applied consistently and this will now be addressed under the new process.

“I would like to thank members of the group, and all others who have been part of the consultation process, for taking the time to engage with us on this very sensitive subject.

“We have also taken the opportunity to make the guide itself more user friendly and easier to follow, and to update other processes and procedures which have changed since the rules and regulations were last reviewed in 2011.”

Mum-of-eight Catherine Board, 39, a leading Torfaen Grave Action Group campaigner, said: “It is disheartening. They didn’t take what we said into account at all.”

The council is also seeking to create a friends group, made up of users of all cemeteries, to work together to improve the service for all users.

The group would be consulted on any changes to the service and feedback ideas and suggestions.

Anyone interested should contact the cemetery manager, Tony Crewe, on 01633 871 786.