Wrong depth of graves claims 'likely to be true'

Allegations that graves were historically not dug deeply enough - leading to coffins becoming compressed - are "likely to be accurate", a mayor has said.

Middlewich Town Council regained control of its cemetery last year after it was run by a committee which the local authority said had "managed to separate" itself from the council.

Mayor Simon Whittaker told councillors that a grave had to be exhumed after it was found to have not been dug to the correct depth.

Cheshire East Council, which has been working with the town council on bereavement services, said it had "assisted in a legal reinterment to ensure full capacity could be accessed for a second burial in a specific grave".

There has been a long-running legal dispute over the cemetery between the town council and its former operators.

Last year, residents were asked for details of loved ones interred at the cemetery after an "alarming" report about how burials were administered.

A judge ruled there had been "some misappropriation" of funds in past years.

The former operators of the cemetery have been approached for comment.

In recently published Middlewich Town Council minutes, the mayor's opening remarks featured an update on the cemetery.

Whittaker referred to a historical whistleblowing report from 2011-2014 which "raised concerns about graves not dug to the correct depth".

He said an exhumation had recently been required.

The mayor explained this had led to a situation in which a second burial could not take place in the same grave.

This, he said, required the excavation of a new grave elsewhere in the cemetery.

At the same town council meeting, a member of the public asked whether there was any truth behind allegations from 2015-2016 that coffins had been compressed to create additional space.

The mayor responded that "based on observations over the last 10 months, the allegations were considered likely to be accurate".

Councillor David Jefferay, chair of Cheshire East Council's environment and communities committee, said: "Cheshire East Council has been working with Middlewich Town Council as part of a 12-month agreement to assist them with bereavement services.

"As part of this work, we assisted in a legal reinterment to ensure full capacity could be accessed for a second burial in a specific grave."

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