The dangerous memorials in the Town Cross Avenue and Chalcraft Lane sites could also be cordoned off to protect the public. The measures were agreed by Arun District Council this week.

Its cabinet members decided to introduce a testing programme of structures in the sites to guarantee the safety of visitors. The tests will be carried out every five years.

They will also apply to five churchyards closed to new burials around the Arun district for which the council is responsible as well as cemeteries east of the River Arun.

Philippa Dart, the council's parks and landscapes officer, told the cabinet she was well aware of the emotions which could be aroused if relatives found a headstone had been laid flat.

"Memorial inspection and subsequent work is very sensitive and it is essential that members of the public are informed about the process and the reasons for it," she stated.

This would be achieved through press releases, prominent warning notices at each site at least a month before the testing and notifying grave owners through their last known address.

She stated: "To ensure that all memorials erected in Arun cemeteries are safe, it is current practice to undertake a visual inspection of memorials as part of the regular site inspections.

"However, following training it is proposed that a general training programme commences in line with the memorial safety policy.

"Any memorials considered to be extremely unstable should be noted.

"Steps should immediately be taken to make safe by laying flat and/or cordoning off from public access."

The safety policy says priority during inspections will be given to areas likely to contain a large number of unstable structures, highly visited areas and crosses and larger structures which, if unstable, are likely to cause the most injury or damage.

The policy sets out how the testing will take place for memorials under 500mm high, those between 500mm and 1.5m and memorials which are higher than 1.5m.

Each memorial which fails a test will have a notice placed on or near it giving contact details of the council and a period for contact.

The action has been introduced because of an increased national awareness of the potential dangers which unstable memorials can cause.

But there has never been knowledge of an accident or injury in one of Arun's cemeteries since the council was formed in 1974. Council deputy leader Cllr Roger Elkins said: "There are some difficulties associated with this.

"Certain other authorities have gone to extreme measures and this has destroyed the character of graveyards.

"There needs to be safety but there has to be a balanced approach to it."

Arun's services director, Colin Rogers, said: "The policy is proportionate to the risk."




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