A WOMAN is delighted she can pay her respects to her grandparents after a Worcester cemetery re-opened to the public.

Charlotte Frost was disappointed when Astwood Cemetery closed to the public on April 11 - except for funerals or burials - due the Covid-19 lockdown.

But Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick said cemeteries must remain open ‘for the health of the nation’ during the government's daily coronavirus press conference on Saturday.

Miss Frost, aged 35, said: “The announcement that the cemetery has been re-opened is finally some positive news that I think we all need. I couldn’t wait to ring my mum and tell her, she was so happy.

“I miss my grandparents so much and since the cemetery closed, I missed them even more. Not being able to go to my safe place which is beside their gravestone and speak to them in such tranquillity was something I was mentally struggling with."

“My nan was my world and when she passed away last February it was and still is a struggle to adjust to life without her. Not having her around is a massive void that I feel. The only place that I get to speak to her again and feel like she is there is beside her gravestone where she and my grandad are laid to rest."

Miss Frost, from Worcester, visits the cemetery in Tintern Avenue every week to pay her respects to her grandmother Margaret Cooper and grandfather John Cooper.

There isn’t a limit on the number of people who can visit the cemetery grounds, but the city council is asking all visitors to observe the rules on social distancing while there.

A Worcester City Council spokesman said: “We have now re-opened both Astwood and St John’s cemeteries to visitors.

“The Book of Condolence is open to be viewed at Astwood Crematorium, during the hours that the building is open for services (9am-6pm, Monday-Saturday).

"All visitors to both cemeteries are asked to observe the social distance rules and remain at least two metres, or six feet, away from each other.

“Throughout this period, funerals, burials and cremations have continued as normal. The social distancing rules mean that only five mourners can attend services at Astwood Crematorium."

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