A MAN has hit out at the state of the churchyard where his parents are buried.

Frank Garside, 65, from Low Moor, says he has to “fight through weeds” at St Mark’s Churchyard to visit the plot where his parents Ernest and Clara are buried.

The church, on Huddersfield Road, is now flats, but the adjoining churchyard belongs to the Parochial Church Council (PCC) of Low Moor and Oakenshaw, which says it has an agreement with the church’s new owner to maintain it two to three times a year.

But Mr Garside says that’s not enough.

“My dad went first and then my mum,” he said. “She bought the plot for them both to be there.

“When the church was up and running, there was an old guy who did it voluntarily.

“He just used to do it off his own back, but I think he passed away.

The former lorry driver, now retired, said it has gone to “rack and ruin”.

“It just needs to be kept tidy,” he said.

“It’s disrespectful to the people buried there.

"Last time my daughter went, she couldn’t find the grave.

“She had to pull stuff away from it.”

Mr Garside says his daughter got in touch with the person believed to have taken over the church and was told the churchyard was kept to a decent standard.

“Even two times a year is not enough,” Mr Garside said.

“It does not look like it has been touched this year.

“It’s going to be damaging graves soon.

“When the church was up and running, it was lovely.

“At least you could walk around and go to whichever grave you wanted to.

“For older people, they would not be able to walk through it.

“It looks very unloved - that’s what made me think it has not been touched.”

Martin McCann, the owner of the church building, said he was not responsible for the churchyard, but had agreed to do it two times per year as a “gesture of goodwill” in an agreement put in place around five years ago.

He says the last time it was cut was in June, but when work was being done on the church building last year, the grass was cut on a more regular basis.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Leeds said: “The churchyard is the responsibility of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) of Low Moor and Oakenshaw, which has put arrangements in place with the new owner of the former church to maintain it two to three times a year.

“The PCC is happy to have another look at those arrangements when they next meet.”

Councillor David Warburton (Labour, Wyke) said that in other areas ‘Friends’ groups, such as the Friends of Wesley Place had been set up, and it may be an option to be considered for St Mark’s Churchyard.

He said that when such groups are set up, applications for funding can then be made.