A nan has vowed to continue fighting a council who gave grieving families just four weeks to remove graveside tributes so that the ground could be returfed.
The authority issued an apology last weekend after its cemeteries and crematoria team told relatives they would be given just days to remove flowers and decorations from graves at Woodlands Cemetery.
Heartbroken families were posted a now-retracted letter saying that they must clear any ornaments or risk losing the sentimental items, according to Birmingham Live.
Courtney Barnes, from Chelmsley Wood, was just one of the many relatives to receive the letter, with her twin sons Lorenzo and Jackson laid to rest at the cemetery following their tragic death on September 20 2020.
The 19-year-old miraculously gave birth to twin boys once again last week, leaving grandma Tracy, 42, to set up a petition on her behalf.
It has racked up 500 signatures since Thursday and Tracy says she will continue to fight despite being given more time.
"I'm going to write to the MP," she said. "It's not just me it's about everyone else."
Tracy said she had been contacted by other families with children at the cemetery who were backing the campaign.
She said it "wasn't right" the council were making them remove the handmade decorations for the twins, even if they were being given more time to do so.
At present, the grave includes fencing, stones, angels and a cross - all of which will have to be removed if they cannot fit on a narrow slab.
"We don't want to go and destroy something that we have worked hard to do," Tracy told BirminghamLive.
"I've spent hours and hours in the garden painting things, everything on their grave is made by me. I didn't buy anything from anyone, I made every item on there and it took me a long time.
"They are saying we can put things on the stone but the stone is about a foot wide."
The 42-year-old pointed to Christmas and Halloween as occasions when some families would put more decorations out - something that would be impossible if the works were carried out.
"All these special occasions are coming up and people feel they can't do anything now," she said. "It's not fair. They have already lost their relatives and now they can't carry on how they would."
Solihull Council said the work would begin this autumn in accordance with cemetery regulations but retracted the initial letter and promised to give families more time.
A spokesperson said: "We would like to apologise unreservedly for the distress that this letter has caused.
“The graves need to be turfed but we recognise that families need more time to prepare. We will give families at each cemetery four weeks in turn to move tributes and other items before work begins."
But Tracey said she wanted to council to put a halt to the work altogether.
She pleaded with the local authority: "Just think about the families and what you are putting us through. Think of the parents that haven't been up there for two weeks because they are heartbroken."
The petition said families had been left "mentally distressed" - with Tracy and Courtney adding they just wanted to make the children's "forever beds look beautiful".
"This place brings me and other parents great comfort," the petition read. "To be told they will remove [items] if we do not is causing so much upset and pain. Have we not gone though enough?"
The spokesperson for Solihull Council went on: “We would also like to reassure families that anything, apart from grave frames, that hasn’t been moved in time will be stored safely for a month and will be available for collection during that time. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to store grave frames.
“We will be writing again to all the families who were mistakenly sent these letters to both apologise and outline the correct timeline and procedures.
“In addition to our previous apologies and reassurance, we would like to add some information about the overall maintenance of the cemeteries.
“Turfing usually takes place between 12 to 18 months after burial to allow the ground to settle and is maintained should the turf require replacement.
"However, it is weather dependent and the works scheduled are both to replace those areas where previous turf was not successful and for those graves where turfing is now due.
“We are aiming to have this completed by Christmas as most families would like their plots to be in the best possible condition at this time of year.
“Of course some families would like less maintenance and some would like more. We try and ensure that the cemeteries are well kept and maintained for all of our bereaved families.”
