A BROTHER and sister paying respect to their parents and other loved ones are disgusted at the overgrown state of the cemetery in Hilperton.

Maggie Ledbury, 64 and her brother Ian Cleverley, 66 from Hilperton visited the cemetery to lay flowers at the grave of their parents and Mrs Ledbury’s husband when they were shocked to see grass cuttings left to rot, and brambles and grass which had grown to waist height.

Mrs Ledbury said: “It is disgusting up there, and it is depressing.

“There are brambles which have overgrown, the grass is four foot high and grass cuttings are left on the ground.

“I couldn’t even see my mother’s grave from the entrance when I was up there last.

“I can’t believe it is allowed to get like that. How can anyone be satisfied that they are doing their job properly if the place looks like that?

“I understand that workers’ hands are tied, but it is unacceptable.

“It is depressing to think this is where our loved ones are.”

Their mother, Hilda Cleverly died in 1967, aged 51, after suffering from long-term illness, and their father, William Cleverley, died in 1995 aged 84.

The cemetery, which is behind St Michael’s Church and is maintained by Wiltshire Council separately to the churchyard itself, is also the final resting place of Mrs Ledbury’s husband Andrew, who died in 2009 aged 58, and is a place of peace where the family like to visit.

Mrs Ledbury said: “We used to all go up together as a family and lay flowers, especially at Christmas, their birthdays and Mother’s and Father’s Days.

“My father fought in the war, and although he didn’t die in the war, he is a hero for what he did for our country.

“His grave should not be left to look like that, along with all the other old graves which don’t seem to be kept as well as the rest of them.

“When I was a little girl there was a man that kept the cemetery immaculate and if you went to see the war graves, they are so tidy.

“Myself and the family used to come up here a lot more than I do now. Now it is just a depressing place for all the wrong reasons.”

Mrs Ledbury hopes that recent complaints about the state of cemeteries across the county will force Wiltshire Council to take action over maintenance..

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “We have a regular schedule to cut the grass and it was cut last week and two weeks prior to that.

“Despite this regular maintenance, grass grows extremely quickly at this time of year. People can call the MyWilts App to report any concerns.”