A grieving daughter who found her mother's grave covered in rubble claims council bosses told her the mess was made so another family could fill in a neighbouring plot themselves for 'cultural reasons'.
Caroline Eccles said she was stunned to arrive at Hey Lane Cemetery in Almondbury, West Yorkshire, to discover mum Margaret's resting place was in a state of disarray.
Caroline said she felt physically sick at the pile of soil and stone tarnishing the grave, reports Examiner Live.
She claims that when she complained to Kirklees Council, which runs the cemetery, she was told that the rubble was there because a family wanted to fill the adjacent plot themselves.
Caroline said: "Several months ago on March 30 I lost my 67-year-old mum Margaret to cancer. She is buried at Hey Lane.
"When going with my 14-year-old son I was absolutely disgusted to find that due to a burial close to my mum's, Kirklees Council has covered her grave in rubble - despite that the area behind her grave being empty.
"I feel that this is completely disgusting and needs to be addressed. When I first saw what had been done I felt physically sick.
"There was this four foot pile of rubble and we had no warning from Kirklees.
"When I contacted the council first thing on Monday morning, I was told that the rubble had been moved as another burial is happening later this week and for cultural reasons the family wish to fill it in themselves.
"We paid £3,500 for that plot and I just think to desecrate my mum's grave in this way is really staggering. I feel quite violated.
"I have three brothers and a sister and we are all struggling to come to terms with my mum's death and visit her grave regularly. None of us could believe what had happened."
A Kirklees Council spokesman said: "We apologise to the family for any perceived disrespect.
"We can assure the family that the reason for this was due to a burial taking place on the next plot which meant replacing the existing earth.
"Boards were placed under the dirt to ensure no damage was done to the existing plot.
"We are meeting with the family involved to discuss this issue and the reasons behind it."
