FATHER’S Day mourners at an Aberystwyth cemetery were left “devastated” and “upset” after they were forced to wade through knee-high grass to visit the graves of their loved ones.

Speaking to the Cambrian News this week, visitors to Plascrug Cemetery on Sunday have hit out at the “disrespectful” state of the grass.

Among them were sisters Mandy and Julie Connors, of Penparcau, who went to lay flowers and to pay respects to their father, Howard.

“It is quite unsafe, especially for elderly people. The grass is up at least as high as knee level,” said Mandy.

“We went down to put flowers on my dad’s grave for Father’s Day with some friends of ours – their father’s grave was just up from dad’s,” added Mandy. “We were all left pretty devastated by the state of the place. You couldn’t even see the smaller graves.

“Down by where my dad’s grave is was really bad – there was no path through the grass.”

Last September, the council defended the length of grass in parts of the cemetery on the basis that an area of the cemetery had been designated for wildflowers and was “subject to a different level of service”, as reported in the Cambrian News.

Miss Connors said the council’s previous explanation failed to take into account the fact the cemetery is used by so many people.

“That’s fair enough on common land, but that’s a graveyard and you have got to think about safety,” she added.

“It is disrespectful to families and the people who have passed away.”

A Ceredigion County Council spokesperson said: “The grass at Plascrug Cemetery is cut on a programmed basis and the approach to its management takes into account the availability of resources.

“The county council acknowledges the sensitivity of this matter and apologises for any upset caused.”

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