THE MOTHER of a 22-year-old man who died seven years ago in a car crash in Italy, has this week condemned the condition and access of the cemetery where her son is buried in Chiswick.

Pearl Bridgeman-Boney who has lived in her house in Duke Road for 33 years, says the Staveley Road cemetery is a disgrace. The regular churchgoer, who recently had a number of operations on her feet, says locks on the cemetery's gate means she has to struggle getting in and out of her car to visit her son's grave, and facilities at the site were severely lacking: It's never clean, when they do cut the grass they leave the bits all over the place and it blows all over the graves,'' she told the Times, The drains by the water pipe are blocked, and the watering cans are full of holes. There are gravestones sinking and falling in the ground. It's just awful.''

Pearl paid £495 seven years ago for the plot in the Catholic cemetery opposite Chiswick Community School, which can now go for as much as £1,000, but felt she was getting little for her money.

Nearby cemeteries, she added, were much better looked after: I go to East Sheen to visit my mother's grave and I can drive in. The cemetery is clean, there are beautiful daffodils planted there. Drains for the water, baskets to put rubbish in.

I just get depressed because of the condition at Staveley Road.''

A spokesperson for CIP which manages the site for Hounslow council said a lock had been put on the gate to protect the graves from litter bugs and vandals, he told the Times: A couple of months before Christmas we had a number of fly tipping incidents and we had to make a decision whether to leave the gate open or not.

Cemeteries are a sensitive area and we made a positive move to ensure the protection of the graves.''

Keys are available to anyone wishing to make a legitimate visit.

According to Ashley Riches, Head of Customer Services, waste baskets are emptied on Fridays and Mondays, and may soon be replaced by larger containers due to the amount of waste at the site. Water from the taps has to soak away naturally into the ground, as there is no drainage system in place.

He added that: Headstones do become unstable over a period of time, due to weathering and vandalismand have fallen over. The responsibility for repair of the headstone is that of the plot owner.''

Due to safety concerns however, the agency plans to take action: We have an up coming programme of topple testing'. This is a device which tests memorial headstones for their sturdiness. A report on the results of the test will be sent to the lead officer at the London Borough of Hounslow for consideration.''

May 1, 2003 16:00