A GRIEVING father has criticised heartless dog owners who are letting their pets foul on graves at a local cemetery.

The dad, who doesn’t want to be named for fear of reprisals, visits his son’s grave at Gourock Cemetery every week and says he is disgusted at what is going on there.

He says owners with dogs on leads are allowing their pets to desecrate the final resting places of people buried there.

The Greenock, man who lives in Braeside, said: “It’s very disrespectful, especially to the deceased and their families.

“I don’t know how these people can sleep at night.” The man, who is in his 50s, says he has reported the incidents to Inverclyde Council and asked them to step in and take action.

He and his wife lost their son when he was only in his 20s and visiting his grave gave them some comfort until they saw what was going on.

The man said: “I’m incensed by this, as hundreds of other people in Inverclyde will be.

“My wife and I walked around the cemetery and we saw a dog urinate on a grave — the owner had the dog on a lead.” Cemetery bosses today strongly criticised the dog walkers for showing no respect to the dead.

A council spokesman said: “The vast majority of dog owners act responsibly but the very small minority who allow their dog to foul the graves of the dead should be utterly ashamed of themselves.

“We do what we can with signs letting walkers know that dogs should be kept on a leash and our staff, including community wardens, have been pro-active to remind those that don’t.

“Clearly we cannot be everywhere at once and the ultimate responsibility lies with the dog owners themselves.

“We would urge them to preserve the sanctity of graveyards and keep their dog under control — or if they cannot do that, they should go somewhere else to walk their dog.”