STAFF from Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWAT) have been cutting the grass at Wellington Cemetery after town councillors branded the state of the area ‘a disgrace’.

Members of Wellington Town Council said they had received a number of complaints from people who had visited the cemetery at Rockwell Green to lay flowers on the graves of loved ones but had been shocked at its overgrown appearance.

Cllr Nick Smith, speaking at the latest full council meeting, said: “The cemetery is a disgrace – it is a matter of urgency.”

Helen Phillips, the localities engagement lead for the newly-formed SWAT council, which runs the cemetery, said the authority’s parks and open spaces department was ‘stretched and struggling to meet the demand’.

People have complained about the long grass and the cemetery looking very untidy and believe it needed to be improved as soon as possible.

Councillors were told that a recent combination of rain and sunshine had been the ‘perfect storm’ to speed up grass growth and make things a lot worse. There is also a high sickness level at the moment within the department – half of them are off,” said Ms Phillips.

“But I know the request about the cemetery is in at the council and I will go back and stress its importance. But the health and safety of our staff is has to come first.

“We are constantly reassessing to see what priorities we can get to.”

But Cllr Smith said: “There must be someone who is employed to look at cemeteries and to go round and look at the conditions? There must be someone who is getting paid to do this?”

Cllr Ross Henley added: “It is appalling about the cemetery. It’s not acceptable and it needs to be sorted.”

Ms Phillips told councillors that merging Taunton Dean Borough Council and West Somerset had resulted in the loss of 20 per cent of the workforce.