A BRIGHOUSE man has been left shocked after a mound of soil was dumped on his family's graves, ruining dozens of bulbs he had lovingly planted.

Widower Stephen Booth, 60, discovered the state of the graves of his parents, wife and baby daughter, last week. They had been piled high with soil while a neighbouring grave was being dug at Brighouse Cemetery.

After complaining to Calderdale Council about the mess he was promised the soil would be cleared following a funeral which was to be held on Friday.

But his photos show that yesterday, a week on from his initial upsetting discovery, the mound of earth had only been partially removed.

Mr Booth, of Bracken Road, told the Telegraph & Argus that he selected the grave plots in question because he can view them from his bedroom window.

"I spotted the pile of muddy clay the day it happened as I saw it from my window.

"I had planted 80 daffodil bulbs under the grass on my parents' grave which were just coming through, so the soil has flattened all of those. There were also crocuses in bloom on my wife and daughter's adjacent grave which have been trampled.

"It's really upsetting to think they haven't shown any respect. I had recently spent money on having my parents headstone professionally cleaned, re-lettered and re-gilded in time for what would have been my dad's 90th birthday in November. It looks like it has just been wiped over with a damp cloth, with streaks of mud now."

Mr Booth's wife Debbie died eight years ago from cancer, aged 49. The couple lost their baby daughter Alice Marie in 1994 at just 27-days-old.

Mr Booth, who is semi-retired and works part time as a payroll manager for Catch Restaurants, said when he contacted the Council he was promised it would be cleared by Friday, but about a third of the "oozing slimy clay" remained over the weekend.

It has now been cleared, but Mr Booth says the gravestones are still streaked with mud with one no longer level, and the bulbs he planted have been ruined.

He also said he had not heard back from the Council about the situation, following an initial phone call last week.

The Council, which is responsible for the Lightcliffe Road cemetery, has since apologised over the matter.

Andrew Pitts, the authority's head of neighbourhoods, said in response: “We would like to thank Mr Booth for alerting us to this situation, and once we were made aware of the problem we contacted him immediately and apologised for any distress that this has caused.

“Unfortunately, when preparing for burials it is necessary from time to time for neighbouring graves to be affected by the resulting debris. This is something we make all grave owners aware of when they take out a plot at our cemeteries.

“When this issue does occur, we do all we can to tidy the affected plots and we will work with Mr Booth to ensure he is happy with the cleaning that is done.

“We’re sorry for the damage caused to the plants, and this is something we will also discuss with Mr Booth and we’re happy to meet him on site to arrange for new bulbs to be planted.

“We have asked Mr Booth to contact staff in bereavement services at any time if the site isn’t cleaned to his satisfaction and will do all we can to rectify the situation.”