SAFETY work at Barnoldswick's Ghyll Cemetery has left some people shocked, distressed and angry to find their loved ones' gravestones have been taken down.

One of the headstones commemorates Earby hero Paul Goodall, tragically shot dead in Bosnia in 1994 while working on the British Government aid convoys.

Initially, it was thought vandals had been at work in the cemetery, but in fact the stones were taken down by Pendle Council workmen as part of a scheme to improve safety in cemeteries across the borough. It follows serious injuries and even deaths in cemeteries around the country, including a death in Burnley, when unsafe monuments have fallen on people.

But Barnoldswick councillor David Whipp is angry at the way the job has been tackled at Ghyll, with workmen starting in the newest part of the cemetery and taking down small headstones that he believes posed no significant threat to anyone's safety.

Meanwhile, older and larger monuments, some leaning precariously, have been left alone.

Coun Whipp was also angry that the next of kin had not been informed immediately.

Paul Goodall's father-in-law, Michael Palmer, said it came as a complete surprise to him and Paul's widow, Denise, when they discovered his gravestone had been taken down

"Nobody's told us. We've had no notification whatsoever," he said. "I think it's scandalous. That's a new gravestone and it's only two feet high. It wasn't in a dangerous state."

Mr Palmer said the family had already been upset when a monument erected to Paul's memory in Bosnia by the United Nations had been broken down. But this was worse because it was on their own doorstep.

"I would almost call it sacrilege," he said "I think we should all be up in arms and make them put them back up again."

Josie Banks, of Barnoldswick, said her family had been upset to find her father-in-law's headstone down, and again they had received no notification.

"They thought it was vandalism and they were heartbroken," she said. "My husband's a builder and he put the headstone in when his father died in 1997. He made sure it was sound."

Another Barnoldswick woman, who asked not to be named, said she was surprised to see so many headstones down when she visited her husband's grave. His headstone was still up, but she contacted Coun Whipp to report what she thought was vandalism.

"It's utterly senseless," she said. "There are stones down that haven't been in 12 months. I'm afraid there'll be a lot of upset caused."

Coun Whipp had supported the safety scheme, thinking it would target much older, larger and clearly dangerous monuments.

But he told the Herald: "I'm pretty aghast at the insensitive way the council has gone about this.

"Some of the headstones taken down are only a couple of years old and some are very small. It's pretty inconceivable how some of them could have been a danger."

Pendle Council's services manager with responsibility for cemeteries, Colin Patten, stressed the work was being carried out on safety grounds and every effort was being made to conduct it in a sensitive manner and to contact the affected families as soon as possible. He said nothing was being removed from site, only that gravestones found to be loose were being carefully laid down.

He accepted work was needed on many of the older and larger gravestones and they had been earmarked. But that work would have to be done by professional monumental masons and arrangements were being made.

Mr Patten said the council had been forced to act after a number of accidents and even fatalities in cemeteries. After careful consideration, it was decided the council's architects would survey its six cemeteries to see what work was needed. The scheme was also discussed at council meetings, including the area committees.

An initial "walk through" survey of the council's cemeteries established that the work should start in West Craven as its three cemeteries, Ghyll, Salterforth and Wheatlands at Earby, had some of the oldest graves and monuments.

More detailed surveys pinpointed the monuments and headstones in need of attention, and Salterforth Cemetery was the first to be dealt with. Nine headstones were laid down there and some of the larger monuments listed for professional work.

The work then moved to Ghyll, where 14 headstones have so far been laid down. Mr Patten stressed there was no plan to start in the newest part of the cemetery, but that was the area determined by the architects to have the highest number of stones in need of attention.

At the same time, work was under way to identify the grave owners and write to them as soon as possible, but that wasn't always straightforward, said Mr Patten. In some cases, the person who bought the plot for their spouse had since died. In other cases, the grave owners had changed their address.

More work is still scheduled in other parts of Ghyll Cemetery before the programme moves to Wheatlands Cemetery at Earby, then to Barrowford, Colne and finally, Nelson.

"We are not setting out to cause distress to anyone, although we recognise there is bound to be some upset," said Mr Patten.

He added that if there was an accident in a cemetery caused by a monument or headstone, liability could lie with the family as owners of the monument, as well as with the council as owners of the cemetery.

"We are trying to save everyone from a potentially very difficult situation if there was an accident, and the responsibility initially rests with us as landowner to take the appropriate action," said Mr Patten.