Family ‘heartbroken’ as soil dumped on grave (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Grieving relatives demand apology from Council over plot covered in earth
7:00am Tuesday 2nd October 2012 in News
By Kathie Griffiths, T&A Reporter
Susan Cogan at her sister's grave in Scholemore Cemetery
A grieving family, who were left heartbroken after grave diggers dumped soil on their relative’s grave, have demanded an apology.
Susan Cogan said she was disgusted when a family friend warned her what to expect when she next visited her sister Debbie Cogan’s grave at Scholemoor at the weekend.
“They’d buried someone next to her but just chucked all the earth on top of her grave. All the little trinkets and planters we had keeping it tidy and beautiful were just strewn everywhere.
“We’re heartbroken. Why would they do this? There was just grass on the other side of the new grave. Why didn’t they put the earth there?”
Antonio Smith, Bradford Council’s bereavement services manager, said there was every sympathy with any family who finds the grave of a loved one covered in earth from an adjacent excavation but it is mentioned in information supplied to everyone who buys a plot that this can happen sometimes.
“To remove the soil away from the grave plots and bring it back after the funeral service would be a very expensive operation and force a sharp and unwanted increase in the fees we charge.
“We will, however, investigate what has happened here and take the issue up with our contractors. The family is welcome to contact us if they wish to discuss this further,” he added.
Miss Cogan, who was 45, died in March this year after an earache she had for six months turned out to be a rare cancer which spread through her skull to her brain – her sister gave up work to look after her at home in Bell Dean, Allerton.
Miss Cogan had been so shocked by the diagnosis that she refused to believe she was terminally ill and had put up a brave fight to battle the disease.
More than 300 people had attended the mother-of-three’s funeral at St Williams’s Church, Girlington – she was a qualified security officer for pubs and clubs as well as a fitness instructor and had just started a job as a classroom assistant when she was diagnosed.
Instead of floral tributes at her funeral, her family had designed a herb garden for her grave and money was being collected to go towards a headstone.
Miss Cogan, who had support from the Hospice at Home team, left sons Joel, nine, and Stevie, 12, who now live with their 23-year-old sister Sinead and her two children.
Miss Cogan’s sister, Susan, said: “What’s happened to Debbie’s grave is just disrespectful. Mum is absolutely distraught. We’ve been going up twice a week, mum does the planters to keep it pretty – this has knocked her hard. We want an apology.”
Comments(22)
Joedavid
says...
8:43am Tue 2 Oct 12
Think the Council should employ better sub contractors if not getting council empolyees to do this work.
Why were the grave diggers not supervised?
Graham Barker
says...
9:36am Tue 2 Oct 12
Northern1
says...
11:18am Tue 2 Oct 12
"Antonio Smith, Bradford Council’s bereavement services manager, said there was every sympathy with any family who finds the grave of a loved one covered in earth from an adjacent excavation but it is mentioned in information supplied to everyone who buys a plot that this can happen sometimes.
“To remove the soil away from the grave plots and bring it back after the funeral service would be a very expensive operation and force a sharp and unwanted increase in the fees we charge.
“We will, however, investigate what has happened here and take the issue up with our contractors. The family is welcome to contact us if they wish to discuss this further”
29 Aug 2011
"Antonio Smith, Bradford Council’s Bereavement Services manager, said: “We are sorry the family have been upset by the soil from an adjacent grave excavation being placed on their child’s grave.
However, as it states in the essential information we supply to everyone who buys a plot in our cemeteries, this can happen sometimes.
To remove the soil away from the grave plots and bring it back after the funeral service would be a very expensive operation and force a sharp and unwanted increase in the fees we charge."
“Before they set to work our staff removed unauthorised items from the adjacent grave to ensure they were not damaged and the plot was treated with the utmost respect."
Clearly Mr Smith's words are just cut and pasted standard responses, and he isn't showing any sympathy at all, let alone showing 'utmost respect' for graves or the "unauthroised items" left by loved ones.
Albion.
says...
11:30am Tue 2 Oct 12
Northern1 wrote:Does he actually exist?
2nd October 2012
"Antonio Smith, Bradford Council’s bereavement services manager, said there was every sympathy with any family who finds the grave of a loved one covered in earth from an adjacent excavation but it is mentioned in information supplied to everyone who buys a plot that this can happen sometimes.
“To remove the soil away from the grave plots and bring it back after the funeral service would be a very expensive operation and force a sharp and unwanted increase in the fees we charge.
“We will, however, investigate what has happened here and take the issue up with our contractors. The family is welcome to contact us if they wish to discuss this further”
29 Aug 2011
"Antonio Smith, Bradford Council’s Bereavement Services manager, said: “We are sorry the family have been upset by the soil from an adjacent grave excavation being placed on their child’s grave.
However, as it states in the essential information we supply to everyone who buys a plot in our cemeteries, this can happen sometimes.
To remove the soil away from the grave plots and bring it back after the funeral service would be a very expensive operation and force a sharp and unwanted increase in the fees we charge."
“Before they set to work our staff removed unauthorised items from the adjacent grave to ensure they were not damaged and the plot was treated with the utmost respect."
Clearly Mr Smith's words are just cut and pasted standard responses, and he isn't showing any sympathy at all, let alone showing 'utmost respect' for graves or the "unauthroised items" left by loved ones.
ANY WHERE BUT HERE
says...
11:31am Tue 2 Oct 12
ANY WHERE BUT HERE
says...
11:36am Tue 2 Oct 12
The Hoffster
says...
12:50pm Tue 2 Oct 12
ANY WHERE BUT HERE wrote:Be quite, you silly Islamophobe.
It seems there is differen't degrees of respect depending which part of the community your from, ( cemetery road )
The Hoffster
says...
12:50pm Tue 2 Oct 12
ANY WHERE BUT HERE wrote:Be quiet, you silly Islamophobe.
It seems there is differen't degrees of respect depending which part of the community your from, ( cemetery road )
The Hoffster
says...
12:51pm Tue 2 Oct 12
Graham Barker wrote:Excellent point.
Could adjacent graves not be covered over with tarpaulins during excavation? That's simple and cheap enough, surely? This sounds like extreme thoughtlessness on the part of the contractors.
Old Dave
says...
1:35pm Tue 2 Oct 12
This is a sign of the times. Instead of dedicated and professional gravediggers that took pride in their work, we are now seeing this service being provided by the lowest bidder, employing unskilled labour as cheaply as they can. Then the council manager cant be bothered to really address the issue other than a cut and paste statement. This is a result of the council getting rid of its parks and gardens service all those years ago!
zippy25
says...
2:18pm Tue 2 Oct 12
ANY WHERE BUT HERE
says...
5:17pm Tue 2 Oct 12
12:50pm Tue 2 Oct 12
ANY WHERE BUT HERE wrote:
It seems there is differen't degrees of respect depending which part of the community your from, ( cemetery road )
Be quite, you silly Islamophobe.This is nothing to do with religion, This is about a council who break their backs appeasing one community. BAZZARS ,CAR INSURANCE, RIDICULOUS PROTESTS, When will we be equal.
ANY WHERE BUT HERE
says...
5:18pm Tue 2 Oct 12
12:50pm Tue 2 Oct 12
ANY WHERE BUT HERE wrote:
It seems there is differen't degrees of respect depending which part of the community your from, ( cemetery road )
Be quite, you silly Islamophobe.This is nothing to do with religion, This is about a council who break their backs appeasing one community. BAZZARS ,CAR INSURANCE, RIDICULOUS PROTESTS, When will we be equal.
maza75
says...
9:13pm Tue 2 Oct 12
sam-tyler
says...
10:30pm Tue 2 Oct 12
maza75 wrote:Haven't got a clue what all that means.
iam soory for the familey but i think they should of got the over side off why they was a mess you had have 48 hours of rain when they was a possibility `for the open grave to collapsed in
zippy25
says...
10:45pm Tue 2 Oct 12
sam-tyler wrote:Niether have i ?
maza75 wrote:Haven't got a clue what all that means.
iam soory for the familey but i think they should of got the over side off why they was a mess you had have 48 hours of rain when they was a possibility `for the open grave to collapsed in
stiflers mom
says...
10:33am Wed 3 Oct 12
maza75 wrote:Are you antonio smith from bradford councils bereavements services by any chance !!!
iam soory for the familey but i think they should of got the over side off why they was a mess you had have 48 hours of rain when they was a possibility `for the open grave to collapsed in
maza75
says...
10:58am Wed 3 Oct 12
Northern1
says...
11:52am Wed 3 Oct 12
maza75 wrote:That's not evident at all from the pictures, video or the grieving family.
It's obvious from the picture that due to the amout of rain we have had over the past week with the grave at the side been relatively new its collapsed in this is not an uncommon thing to happen in extreme weather. This is just my opinion
How would a collapsed grave result on a mound of earth rather than a hole,and soild thrown all over the adjacent grave, scattering all the artefacts and momentos on it?
From your posts you have no sense of reality or an appreciation of what has happened here, or the upset caused.
Much in common, then, with Bradford Council’s so-called bereavement services 'manager'.
maza75
says...
12:53pm Wed 3 Oct 12
katekelly14
says...
3:09pm Thu 4 Oct 12
Mik_e says...
8:39am Tue 2 Oct 12