IT was undoubtedly with the very best of intentions that the council knocked over a number of gravestones in Ghyll cemetery. Among them was the last resting place of Paul Goodall - a true hero, murdered while carrying out a mercy mission to Bosnia.

It is a safety measure, taken after the death of a child in Burnley, crushed when a gravestone toppled over on him.

Yet, like so many instances these days, it seems like a huge over-reaction to a rare accident. Little wonder that many folk think that vandals have struck.

A cemetery should be a peaceful, tranquil place, where relatives can if they wish recall fond memories of their departed - not see a much loved gravestone pushed to the ground just in case some children happen to think a graveyard is a good place to play.

Mr Goodall's family are shocked by the decision. It's hard to envisage a newish, two feet high gravestone as a danger to the public.

But perhaps the desecration is to ward off a damages claim in this compensation obsessed society we live in today.