SOLIHULL Council has pledged to clear away fallen trees within days after a distraught resident said she’d been unable to visit her mum’s and sister’s grave for weeks.
Heartbroken Diane Padgett from Damson Wood said she’d telephoned Solihull Connect and even issued a corporate complaint about the state of Robin Hood Cemetery without anything being done to rectify the situation.
“It’s been like this for weeks, there are just massive trees everywhere on the ground.
“It was my sister Susan’s birthday and I so wanted to visit her grave, but I couldn’t because of the trees.
“I wanted to lay some flowers there but I couldn’t reach her grave.
“I was shocked more than anything and I started to cry. It’s just unacceptable.
“It was the same for Mother’s Day. The lad I spoke to at the cemetery said it had been like that for two months.”
Diane’s shock turned to anger, so she lodged a complaint.
“I got a reply from the council saying they would deal with it within 20 days. I mean, what good is that to anyone?”
Diane, who has three children of her own and three grandchildren, said she visits her mum and sister’s grave at least every six weeks but this year due to the pandemic her trips to Robin Hood had been curtailed.
“There’s no excuse to leave graves unreachable like this for people to visit their loved ones,” said Diane, who works in a school.
She contacted the Solihull Observer and we approached the borough council.
A spokesperson for the authority said: “We are extremely sorry that the fallen trees in Robin Hood Cemetery have not yet been removed and understand the distress that this has caused.
“The trees will be removed this week.”
