A RESIDENT has told how a £300 wreath was destroyed by Fife Council workers at Kincardine Cemetery.

The individual, who wishes to remain anonymous, has hit out at the lack of respect shown to the family tributes left at gravesides and the "disgusting" state of the cemetery, saying that it is one of the worst kept in Fife.

Speaking to the Advertiser, they said: "My friend buried her brother-in-law and the next day after the burial they (the Council) went up and cut the grass – but they went over the wreath with the grass cutter and chopped it up.

"That was only a day on from when she buried her brother-in-law and it cost £300. It was completely halved by the lawn mower."

Climaing this was not an isolated incident, they have said that this happens regularly and that Christmas wreaths often meet the same fate.

And that's not the only issue that they feel needs to be addressed. They have also criticised the lack of maintenance, upkeep and care shown to the burial grounds and have listed a number of issues.

They continued: "The grass gets cut and that is it, nobody maintains it. There's no greenkeeper that goes in and gives it a tidy up, there's no edging around or at the back of the graves.

"The graves are covered in weeds, I know there's a lot of war graves up there so there's nobody up there to maintain these.

"The farmer's field is right on the back of some of the graves and that is another eyesore. There's not even a fence between them, it's just a wire and the weeds just come over and grow around all the graves.

"The entrance to the graveyard as well, the house has been derelict for about three years now. The gentleman that lived in the house did a lot in the graveyard off of his own back, he kept the entrance beautiful but since that man died, the house has been empty.

"It's all boarded up, and the kids were using it as a gang hut, people are using it as a dumping ground, the surrounding garden is completely overgrown and the weeds are taller than me.

"There are potholes in the graveyard and it's just not a very pleasant experience to go in."

They claim that this is a well-known issue in the area, with many locals agreeing that the upkeep of the cemetery is sub-standard.

"All the locals seem to think it's disgusting," they said. "If you go into any other cemetery in Fife, they're a lot better kept than Kincardine Cemetery is.

"Everybody speaks about it, there are always posts on the community page saying how disgusting it is and going over the wreaths is just totally disrespectful."

It has been a point of contention for their family for years now, with another family member attempting to rectify these issues with the help of their local MP but nothing was done.

They would like to see more done by the Council to maintain the graveyard, a wall to be put up between the field and the cemetery to prevent the spread of weeds, and plants to be planted and maintained by the Council to make the cemetery a more enjoyable environment to go and remember loved ones.

Liz Murphy, Fife Council's bereavement services manager said she's aware that some maintenance is needed.

She added: "We work hard to make sure all our cemeteries are clean and tidy and we're sorry there's been some outstanding work to do at Kincardine. We'll make sure that's addressed as quickly as we can.

"Unfortunately, we can't tidy up the grounds of the building at the cemetery entrance as it's privately owned."