Mourners say they've had to empty bins, cut grass and pick up smashed vases at a cemetery left "looking like a bomb's gone off".
The upkeep of Bootle Cemetery in Merseyside has come under fire after visitors reported damage to graveside ornaments and overflowing bins.
Those whose loved ones are buried at the cemetery say they've had to step up and look after the grounds to make up for maintenance workers' neglect.
The cemetery includes graves of military war dead and memorials commemorating civilian victims of the Blitz.
Colin Chadd used to visit once a week, taking flowers to the grave of his friend who drowned in 2019.
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The 54-year-old now goes "three or four times a week" to fix damage he claims is being done to ornaments at the cemetery.
He told the Liverpool 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."
Mr Chadd said he's had to replace the broken ornaments on his friend's grave – and claims vases by neighbouring headstones "have all been chopped as well."
"I've got pictures of them all," he said. "And the bins bursting at the seams."
"I go there three of four times a week to cut the grass and [deal with] 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."
Mr Chadd says he has tried contacting Sefton Council but has been met with silence.
And he says the state of the graveyard is getting worse.
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 friend's 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 residents and visitors rightly expect.”
