A Wandsworth woman was furious to discover that her great-grandad's grave had been laid flat by the council.

Sue Glancy took elderly father to Putney Vale Cemetery last week to put Christmas wreaths on various family graves.

Once there she noticed that "an awful lot" of headstones had been removed from their plinths and laid flat on the ground.

"It looked awful," she told the Wandsworth Times.

"When we got to my in-laws grave we noticed a temporary sign saying that headstones that where deemed ‘unsafe’ had been laid flat for ‘health and safety' reasons.

"When we reached the grave of my great grandad his was also laid flat, along with the one behind his and the one next to his."

She said she received no notification from Wandsworth Council that this would be happening and that it was upsetting to see.

"Although my great-grandad passed 41 years ago we visit the grave regularly and on our last visit it showed no signs whatsoever of being unstable nor the surrounding ones in their settings." she added.

"I went into the office to ask why this had been done and also why no notification had been given.

"I was told that as the grave was pre-1979 the records were not kept online and therefore no notification would have been sent, even though the address related to that grave is the one my father still resides at."

Wandsworth Council cited recent deaths in Scotland and Yorkshire as a reason the measures were carried out.

“We entirely acknowledge that this will be upsetting for relatives but unfortunately when heavy stone memorials are at risk of collapse then we do have to do something to ensure the safety of the public," a council spokesman said.

"This is common practice among all local authorities and follows a number of serious incidents when people have been badly injured by headstones that have toppled over, including a particularly tragic case in Scotland and another in Yorkshire when two children died when memorials collapsed on top of them.

“In these cases we gently place the headstone flat on the grass and if we still have their details, contact family members to inform them so that they can arrange for the stone to be put back in its rightful place.”

But on top of all the heartache Mrs Glancy suffered, there was still one final nail in the coffin, money.

"I was told that we would not be allowed to re-set the headstone ourselves but it had to be done by a registered stonemason and told the cost would be anywhere between £100 and £300," she added.

"The cemetery looks like a scene of wanton vandalism and frankly I am appalled at the council's attitude to the whole scenario.

"I am not happy about this situation but have no option but to pay to have the headstone reset as to not do this would be a mark of disrespect to the deceased."