Daughter says huge pile of rubble dumped on mother's grave is disrespectful

A family were left "heartbroken" when they visited a relative's grave on Mother's Day and found a huge pile of rubble on top of it. Loretta Perminas, 54, took her two children and three of her grandchildren to see her mother Jadvyga's resting place at Carlton Cemetery in Nottingham on Sunday. She had left items, including an angel ornament and flowers, next to a name plaque but found them all tossed to the side.



Gedling Borough Council has apologised to the family for the distress caused, but said that when it is digging new graves workers sometimes have to put soil on the adjacent plot for a short time. Ms Perminas, of Carlton, said: "It's just heartbreaking. We didn't even have anywhere to put the flowers. To cover up someone's grave with a pile of rubble is so disrespectful – I couldn't believe it." Jadvyga died in January last year, aged 89. The family have been saving up for a headstone but had placed a memorial plaque, vases and a Holy Mary ornament, which had been blessed by the Pope in Rome, on the grave.



Grandmother-of-five Ms Perminas visited the grave last Wednesday to leave flowers and the angel ornament. When she returned with her family, she found another grave had been dug about six inches away, with soil and rocks dumped on her mother's resting place. Gedling Borough Council, which runs the cemetery, has apologised. Peter Barnes, portfolio holder for the environment, said: "We are really sorry for any distress experienced by the Perminas family.


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"Carlton Cemetery is a working cemetery, which means that graves are being dug out and prepared for new burials all the time. In this case, a grave was being prepared adjacent to the grave of the Perminas family and, as a result, earth was placed on the adjacent grave, pending the new burial. Given the close proximity between graves, this practice is often unavoidable but we always remove any earth that is left on adjacent graves as quickly as possible. We also ensure that any family items that are removed as part of the preparation for a new grave are carefully returned to where they came from."