CONTROVERSY over the grave of a young boy in the Four Marks Burial Ground has been reopened, as the parish council is ordering all ÒunsuitableÓ items to be removed from all graves.

Jack Innes died two years ago at the age of four, in a fairground accident in Spain. He had attended HeyDays Pre-School group, based at Four Marks school, where he had made a number of friends.

Many youngsters have since left tributes in the form of personal items at the grave site, including flowers, a night light and a distinctive windchime.

The parish council confirmed that it had received complaints from residents regarding the placement of items at the grave, which has prompted it to seek their removal.

The councilÕs request was met with anger from some sections of the Four Marks community, who believed that people should be allowed to grieve in any way they feel is appropriate.

In a letter to one Four Marks resident, parish clerk Bob Park said: ÒI very much regret having to write to you on this matter, but it has been forced on this council by the action of a nearby plot holder at Four Marks burial ground. He has piled a large number of wholly unsuitable items on a grave and refuses to remove them, stating that other plot holders have also placed unauthorised items on their graves and all should be treated the same.

ÒThe council feels it has no alternative other than to enforce the regulations more strictly in future and I have been instructed to write to all other grave holders who have also placed unauthorised items on graves to request their removal.

ÒI must accordingly ask you to remove from grave number B66, the two plastic windmills, penguin, plastic angel and wooden cross, all of which fail to conform to the burial ground regulations and have been placed on the grave without this councilÕs consent.Ó

The resident in question, Mrs Sarah Townsend, said: ÒWe had heard of a similar letter to JackÕs family and I thought at the time that it was disgusting and insensitive, and when we received one, I was absolutely horrified.

ÒInitially, I could not believe that they had referred to my father as a grave number, but then I understood that they did not really know from their records what relation he was.

ÒI am not really too fussed about removing the windmills, even though they are tiny and completely unobtrusive, but the plastic angel that they refer to is actually made of granite and cost quite a lot of money.

ÒThe wooden cross referred to is the one put into the grave by the funeral director, and is still there because we havenÕt yet decided on an appropriate headstone. How this can be deemed as ÔunsuitableÕ is beyond me.

ÒWe had been thinking of replacing it with another wooden cross, but it turns out that we arenÕt allowed to use wood. Mr Park insinuated that this was too long a period for the existing cross to be there, but we are not going to be rushed into anything.

ÒI suggested that the parish council displays these regulations somewhere, so that future contravention may be avoided. He said that we would have been shown a copy when we were arranging the funeral.

ÒMy father died unexpectedly at the age of 57 and we were all in a state of shock, so how we could have been expected to take these rules in at a time like that, I donÕt know.

ÒWe are upset about my fatherÕs grave, but it hurts more to think that they have a problem with the grave of a small child. JackÕs grave is just behind my fatherÕs, and I enjoy seeing the tributes left by the children. They are not tacky or distasteful, and they brighten the place up. I donÕt know how they expect children to deal with grief and their request seems highly insensitive.

ÒI spoke to Mr Park on the phone, to give him a chance to defend the councilÕs position, and he was very defensive straight away without even listening to me, so he has obviously had complaints about this.

ÒThis is the first contact I have had with the parish council, and my first impression is that they are a bit heartless. Their approach in this matter seems a bit behind the times, and a bit unnecessary.Ó

The Herald invited a reply from Mr Park, but he declined to comment.