Nottinghamshire family's 'disgust' as pile of dirt dumped on mum's grave

The mound of dirt on the grave at Carlton Cemetery, Nottinghamshire
The mound of dirt on the grave at Carlton Cemetery, Nottinghamshire -Credit:Supplied


A Nottinghamshire family say they are "disgusted" after a pile of dirt was dumped on their mum's grave. The mound was found on top of the plot of Claire Francis, a mum-of-five who is buried at Carlton Cemetery.

One of her sons, Dylan Francis, said the discovery made him "sick to my stomach". Gedling Borough Council apologised for the distress caused to the family, but said it was standard practice for when neighbouring graves are created.

Dylan's younger brother came across the pile of dirt when he went to pay respects to his mum on Wednesday, May 8. "It's huge, it's taller than me and I'm 5ft 8in. It looks like a bomb's hit it," said Dylan, 22.

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"I'm sick to my stomach, this shouldn't be able to happen. No-one was made aware and it's caused heartache."

The grave was adorned with framed photos of Claire and her family, as well as ornaments and a cross that was put on by one of her daughters. Dylan added: "It's disgusting, they've got a whole field behind that they could have used, you can't even recognise it's a grave. I felt physically sick."

Claire, from Carlton, died in August from cancer aged 38. Her son described her as "the most amazing, fun and charismatic" person.

Dylan and his mum Claire
Dylan described his mum as the 'most amazing, fun and charismatic' person -Credit:Dylan Francis

He added: "Her laugh was unforgettable, she was so caring and put everything into her kids. I never expected her to go.

"She was a beautiful soul. I never thought something like this would happen in a place of rest. When people are laid to rest they should be laid to rest."

Leader of Gedling Borough Council, councillor John Clarke said: “It is standard practice for graves to be created in this way, our gravediggers need to dig the ground and ‘box’ the soil next to the grave before a burial can take place. The cemeteries team always take great care when digging graves and are aware of the sensitivity of the operation.

"They are trained to place protective cover boards over graves, remove any photographs, flowers or ornaments and put them back exactly as they were found after the burial takes place.

"However, we can understand the upset this could cause visitors to the cemetery seeing the sight of soil on their loved one's graves, but we can assure them that the greatest care is taken to not damage existing graves. We are very sorry for any distress caused to the family when visiting our cemetery.”