Two friends have been left appalled at the 'disgusting' state of a Greater Manchester cemetery after seeing rubbish dumped throughout it. Lisa Smith and Debbie Owen, from Astley, visited Leigh Cemetery on Thursday morning (April 21).
The pair, both 48, had gone to see the graves of Debbie's brother Shane and Lisa's nana Olwen. But as they walked from one plot to the other, they were horrified to see piles of old flowers and litter, including near to where Olwen had been laid to rest.
"We were both shocked at the state of the cemetery," Lisa told the Manchester Evening News . "We both commented on plots that loved ones are trying keep tidy, noticing along the way old flowers plus extra rubbish being randomly dumped.
READ MORE: Young man who died after stabbing in Ancoats named as second arrest made
"It just looks like someone has gone and emptied out a few bins, it's just disgusting. Why keep the plot tidy but make the surroundings look a mess?"
Lisa says that there were previously bins throughout Leigh Cemetery, including one near to her nana's grave, but these had been removed. It was at those locations where the pair found flowers and waste had been left dumped in piles.
Instead of the old bins, Lisa and Debbie saw two large industrial bins near the entrance of the cemetery, and three in the middle of the site. Wigan Council says the waste has since been cleared up, and is urging members of the public to use the bins provided or take their waste home.
Dave Lyon, Wigan Council’s assistant director for environment, said: “Providing a positive space for residents to visit and remember their loved ones is really important to us here at Wigan Council. At Leigh Cemetery, there are bins situated by every exit and our teams regularly visit main areas affected by fly-tipping to clear rubbish which has been left.
“We would like to remind residents to dispose of their litter responsibly in the bins provided, or even better still, take their litter home and where possible recycle. We have visited the cemetery to remove this rubbish today and would encourage anyone who spots flytipping or litter to report it to us by visiting our website, wigan.gov.uk/reportit ”
