Parents and grandparents have criticised the "vile" state of a Sutton cemetery which is leading several of them to consider exhuming their babies. A fundraising campaign has been launched to try and make improvements to the site in Huthwaite Road, which is managed by Ashfield District Council.
Those with children and grandchildren buried at the site say issues range from the theft of ornaments and decorations around graves, to dog mess regularly being left around the cemetery. One of those affected is Lisa Angell, 46, who lost her daughter Alysha in 2005 when she was just three days old due to multiple organ failure.
Over the years, Lisa says ornaments around the grave were stolen on several occasions and that the state of the wider cemetery became "disgusting." Lisa says the "final straw" came last September and that Alysha has since been cremated and buried at home.
Lisa said: "I never wanted to bury Alysha but we had no choice at the time because there was an inquest into her death. When that was all finished, I didn't want to bring her back up.
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"But the final straw was last September when I took my granddaughter to the grave. I'd always decorated Alysha's grave based around whatever was happening in the world and at that time we had just lost the Queen, so there were little corgis, a Union Jack and things like that around it.
"My granddaughter had also painted these two beautiful little birds but on this one particular day I took her there, people had been stealing again and these birds had been smashed. My granddaughter was really upset and after 18 years, I eventually decided I had to bring Alysha back up."
Lisa says trees were felled some years ago at the cemetery, which she says partly contributes to the regular flooding there. The flooding then leaves the site "boggy", with mud covering paths and graves.
After applying to the Government for a licence, Lisa and her family were able to exhume Alysha last November. But Lisa says she continues to worry about other parents with children buried at the Sutton Cemetery.
Sadie Kime, 41, lost her son Ethan in 2004 before he was delivered and buried him at the Sutton Cemetery that same year. Speaking about the state of the site now, Sadie said: "If nothing is happening in the next month, I will look into sending off an application to bring Ethan back up.
"I never wanted him to be cremated and so I will have to find somewhere else for him to be buried if that happened, which is more expense and more stress but I'll have to do it because I've had enough." Julie Carlisle, 46, has both her son and granddaughter buried at Sutton cemetery, with Ryan passing away in 2000 and Poppy in 2014.
But Julie also says she may have to consider exhumation if conditions at the cemetery don't improve soon. She said: "When we first buried Ryan things were not as bad as they are now, but as the years have gone on things have started to get worse. It's just disgusting now and what Lisa did was very brave but if it's given her peace of mind and that's what I might have as well, then I might have to do it."
Ashfield District Council, which manages the site, says work has taken place more recently to improve the site. But Lisa says this more recent work has included "throwing grey slate" over the graves and says in some cases, flowers and the borders of some graves have been covered over with the effect that some are totally obscured from view.
Lisa added: "I made a vow to the other parents that I wouldn't abandon them when we took Alysha home and so we're trying to raise as much as we can to improve the site. We want to put pagodas in, some more flowers and solar lighting so that when parents come down that hill, it almost looks like a space they can imagine their children playing in.
"At the moment, it's a dark and horrible place and the current manager is genuinely trying, but things are still happening too slowly. I haven't slept properly for 18 years because I was so worried all the time about what was happening to Alysha's grave. Amazingly, since she's been back at home, I've now started sleeping properly again."
The fundraising campaign has an initial target of £1,000, but the parents involved are hoping to raise as much as possible. Lisa says she has been told that in terms of the thefts, CCTV will eventually be installed at the cemetery gates and the cemetery manager has reportedly told parents that the recent paving and slate work will be looked at.
Ashfield's Conservative MP Lee Anderson has visited the cemetery on several occasions and addressing a visit in January, he wrote: "Too many false promises and the recent debacle of just turning up with a van full of slate then dumping it over the children's graves has made it look even worse."
An Ashfield District Council spokesperson said: "The council is aware of the concerns raised about the children's section of the Cemetery. In consultation with the families we have been working hard to address a number of issues and this work will continue to take place." Those who wish to donate to the fundraiser can do so here.
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