RELATIVES could have to pay more than £250 to repair loved ones’ gravestones... or find them moved.

Basildon Council is writing to relatives to let them know that some gravestones at Wickford Cemetery are now insecure and if they were not fixed, they will be moved to the side of the cemetery.

However, there are also concerns some families of those buried in the cemetery might not be aware of the problems with some of the headstones.

Peter Towler, 62, of Ulting Way, Wickford, received one of the letters, but is worried the relatives of the other 50 stones may not have.

He said: “I’ve been dismayed to see dozens more insecure graves that have now been pinned back with rope and stakes.

“The council was able to alert us about ours, because we are still living at the address they held for us as relatives of the deceased.

“But for others, if the family has since moved, the council would have no way of contacting them.

“The upshot is that people will come to lay flowers at their granny’s grave and be distressed to find that it’s now parked against the wall.”

Mr Towler has noticed that all the unsecured graves that have come unbounded from their bases are for those who died during a 20-year period up to the end of the 1990s.

“Perhaps it’s the fault of the mason at the time,” he said.

“I guess the stones now have to be secured in case a small child were to lean against one of the graves.”

Maintenance workers employed by Basildon Council discovered the graves in the cemetery were insecure while carrying out routine testing of headstones.

These are undertaken every five years to ensure the sites stay safe for visitors and mourners.

A Basildon Council spokesperson said: “Any headstones that are found to be unstable are temporarily secured before we write to the registered grave owner informing them that permanent repairs are required by a set date.

“If these are not completed we carry out minimal repairs ourselves to ensure all headstones are of a safe standard.

“All works are completed on site.”