Relatives of loved ones buried at Port Glasgow cemetery have hit out over condemned notices placed on headstones

Kathleen McKay and her sister Theresa Camburn say they have had several memorials slapped with warning signs.

The family, including their other sister Bernadette O'Connor, had raised the issue with councillors and went along with them for a site visit on Tuesday.

Kathleen, 65, of Lochview Road, says she has received notification about her husband's uncle's grave, her parents and her husband's parents.

She said: "It's going to cost £280 - £20 for the title deeds and £20 for a stonemason.

"The total will be almost £1,000.

"If the headstones are unsafe, I think that whoever did the work at the time should fix them.

"I could hardly move any of them."

She added that some people who own the lairs don't live in the town, so wouldn't see the messages.

She said: "Some people have special messages there and those will be lost."

Theresa, of Mallaig Road, said that her mother, father and sister share the same final resting place and insists there is no problem with the memorial.

She said: "My mother's headstone is not unstable.

"I think it's shocking because we've maintained the headstone all along.

"It's been there for 20 years."

Councillor Drew McKenzie took part in the site visit along with colleagues Robert Moran, Lynne Quinn and Jim MacLeod and said he could understand families' concerns.

He said: "The sight of all those yellow signs on gravestones can be distressing for families and relations of those buried there.

"I feel it also detracts in some way from the ambience and the calmness of the burial ground."

But Cllr McKenzie added that helpful talks had been held with council officials.

He said: "It was explained to us that this was not just a situation concerning Inverclyde but was being addressed by every local authority in Scotland.

"We were shown how the test was conducted to determine the stability of each stone and the possible risks attached to such stones were explained.

"Inverkip, Kilmacolm and now Port Glasgow cemeteries have been inspected up to now but shortly the programme will move on to Gourock and then Greenock.

"The councillors present, I think, were satisfied that Inverclyde Council were conducting this whole exercise in a very responsible and sympathetic manner.

"One of the things that was explained to us is that for those who have to bring in the services of a monumental sculptor are well advised to shop around because there does seem to be a big variance in what different monumental sculptors are quoting.

"I would advise that for any families whose gravestones are involved to get in touch with the council where they will be advised as to what steps they should take.

"The council officials are happy to meet with families at the respective grave within the cemetery. "

Council bosses released a statement regarding the visit saying that the council has compiled a safety database of the tens of thousands of memorials in its cemeteries.

They say that the condition of each headstone has been recorded along with the date of the last inspection and any action or repair required.

Councillor Jim Clocherty said: “We are all too aware of the tragic consequences that can occur if memorials become unsafe.

“The council carries out regular inspections but we are taking that process a step further by compiling a comprehensive and complete database of all the headstones in Inverclyde.

“This will allow us to quickly identify memorials requiring further inspection or repair.”

Each headstone will have a visual inspection to assess its condition and will then be given a 'hand test' to check if there is any movement in the stone.

Memorials that fail the test will have a notice attached to them and the council will contact as many grave owners as possible.

Any memorial that poses an immediate danger will be laid down or removed from the grave space.

Affected lair owners should ask for a written guarantee for the re-pinning of their memorial and also for new headstones from their chosen monumental mason.

Councillor Clocherty added: “With so many headstones dating back several hundred years it is clearly a massive task.

“Our immediate priority is to make sure that all our cemeteries continue to be safe.”