Fury as cars drive over graves at Hamilton cemeteries

Dec 29 2011 by Gary Fanning, Hamilton Advertiser

FAMILIES this week slammed motorists who drove over graves on Christmas Day.

One woman was horrified to see vehicles driving over graves in both the Bent and the West cemeteries in Hamilton.

She has called on South Lanarkshire Council to take urgent action before a vehicle smashes into a gravestone.

The woman, who didn’t want to be identified, said that one solution might be to make the single-track road one way, as already happens during burials.

She said: “Once again, the car owners that visited the graves on Christmas Day did not think about anyone else in their rush to do their yearly bit. For most, it’s the only time they go to the graves.

“But to get to visit their relatives they drive over other people’s loved one’s graves, chewing up the edges so there’s nothing but mud to walk on.

“Others don’t even wait for you to move over. The go onto the grass to drive past you – that’s graves that they are driving over.

“People are buried there but as long as their relatives’ graves are OK, they don’t care what happens to other people’s relative’s graves. “Can’t they see that these cemeteries were not meant for the amount of cars that go into them today?

“Two cars cannot pass each other on single-track roads, so therefore they drive up footpaths too and this causes damage.”

The woman hit out at the poor condition of the West Cemetery in Wellhall Road and Bent Cemetery in Bent Road.

She said: “These cemeteries are in a terrible state and I would urge the council to come up with some ideas to put a stop to this yearly vandalism.”

A council spokesman said: “It is a great pity that there are still a number of thoughtless, selfish people in the world who give no thought or respect to others at a time of their grieving. We would condemn anyone who has seen fit to drive over the graves.”