Mourners have been forced to "empty bins" and "cut grass" at a Merseyside cemetery.
The upkeep of Bootle Cemetery has come under fire as mourners are forced into maintaining the grounds despite maintenance workers coming and going from the site.
Colin Chadd, from Bootle, used to visit the cemetery once a week, taking flowers to the grace of his friend, who drowned in 2019.
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The 54-year-old now goes "three or four times a week" due to claims of damage being done to ornaments left at graves in the cemetery.
He told the ECHO: "I go there a few times a week to cut the grass at my mate's headstone and my father- and mother-in-law's grass and the fellas over there make an utter mess.
"The bins aren't getting emptied, they're cutting through everything and anything that's in the way like the vases people put flowers in, just chopping through them.
"I've had mine on my mate's grave, I've had to fix them and get new ones, and my neighbour's, hers have all been chopped as well. I've got pictures of them all and the bins bursting at the seams.
"I go there three of four times a week to cut the grass and the mess they're leaving. I have to take bin bags over, take rubbish out the bins, and take the bin bags home to put in our bins."
The HGV driver says he has tried contacting Sefton Council but has been met with silence.
Colin has even started maintaining a grave his neighbour visits so that ornaments aren't accidentally damaged during maintenance.
He said: "They cut the grass the other day and it made even more of a mess. It's everywhere the grass. It looks like a bomb has gone off in the cemetery. It's a total disgrace. I've had to buy my own lawnmower to cut the grass because of the mess they make.
"They chop through anything and everything. In the end I started chopping the grass myself because I don't want them going near my friends grave because of the mess they make."
A Sefton Council spokesperson said: “Staff shortages due to redeployment, general staff turnover and people needing to self-isolate shielding has affected work across the Council including maintenance work at Sefton’s outdoor spaces and cemetery sites.
“Our Green Sefton team is currently reviewing the frequency of maintenance at cemetery sites and conducting visits to inspect the condition of the features so that we can return them to the high standards, resident and visitors rightly expect.”
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