DOG owners who allow their pets to run free in an Aberystwyth cemetery have been accused of being disrespectful and should be banned from doing so, a town council meeting heard.

Following the council’s decision to ban dogs from the town’s rope labyrinth, Cllr Ceredig Davies said he had been approached by a concerned member of the public who had questioned whether dogs should be allowed off their leads in the cemetery.

He said: “They thought that it was disrespectful to those buried there that dogs were allowed to run all over the graves and leave a mess.”

Cllr Davies said any decision to demand that owners keep their dogs on a lead would have to be introduced in conjunction with Ceredigion council.

Cllr Alun Williams, who represents the ward which includes the cemetery, said he wouldn’t want to see a total ban on dogs being allowed into the cemetery as that would penalise responsible dog owners, but he said that requesting dog owners to keep their pets on a lead seemed a reasonable request.

He said: “If there are particular issues we could look at ways of managing that.”

Councillors agreed to ask the council’s general management committee to look at the issue.